Docs call new facilities a ‘burden’

Bangalore: The blood component facility and the histo-pathology unit at the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics, has been lying idle ever since it was installed more than eight months ago. The reason: Pathology department head thinks it will be an additional burden.

The above equipment were procured by the institute to fulfill Medical Council of India (MCI) norms for establishing MS in Orthopedics. The histo-pathology unit is used to facilitate the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of a disease.

According to Dr B. G. Tilak, Director, Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics, the blood component storage and separator facility was installed at a cost of Rs 6 lakh and histopathology unit at a cost of Rs 8 lakh.

He said, “After about 26 years of efforts we got the MS in Orthopedics at the institute. Having blood component storage and separator facility and histopathology unit was one of the major criteria.

We had also got in one technician each, but since the Pathology professors at the institute feel it would be an extra burden to their work, the entire facility is not being used." The Director expressed his concern that the MS, Orthopedics practice at the institute might be hampered.

On a daily basis the Institute gets about 100-150 patients, who require blood or blood component - testing, storage and separator facility and the histopathology unit. If a blood test is done at a government run hospital it would cost Rs 10-15, whereas in a private clinic it would cost about Rs 50-100. Similarly, a histopathology test can be done at a government hospital for Rs 100-150, but the same would cost around Rs 800-1,000 in a private set-up.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that even the radiology department at the Institute is in a dismal state. As against the normal government working hours of 9.00 am to 4.00 pm, the Radiology Department head is hardly present at the institute during working hours. There has been no account of the X-ray timings as well.

When the Director tried to take action against erring officials to improve the functioning of the institute, he was assaulted. He had filed an FIR at Tilak Nagar Police Station on October 29 and a report in this regard was also submitted to the Health Secretary on November 11.