Pune rampage victims at Sassoon find CT machine not working

The biggest government-run tertiary care hospital in city, Sassoon General Hospital was caught off guard with no functional computerised tomography (CT) scan machine available for the victims injured in the Swargate bus driver’s rampage.

Many patients were sent to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Kamala Nehru Hospital for a CT scan as the only machine at Sassoon Hospital has been out of order for the last one-and-half-years.

One such patient, Ritesh Khandelwal (11) sustained severe head injuries in the rampage. Ritesh was riding pillion with his father, Pinkesh on the way to school when the accident occurred. Pinkesh died in the accident. Yogesh Mehta, business partner of Pinkesh Khandelwal said, “The boy was shifted to another hospital for CT scan as the machine at Sassoon Hospital is out of order. We hope they don’t lose much time.”

Gopal Khadse, head of radiology department, said authorities had forbidden doctors from speaking to the media. However, he claimed that a new CT scan machine would come ‘soon’ at the hospital. “The process is already over and funds are sanctioned. The dean shall be able to give more information,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, dean Ajay Chandanwale couldn’t be reached for comments. Sources at hospital said that after several complaints from patients and negative media reports, Sassoon Hospital tied up with Kamala Nehru Hospital in March 2011 for CT scans. Patients are being sent in ambulances from Sassoon Hospital to the PMC-run hospital and brought back at no charge.

Meanwhile, disaster management experts slammed the state of affairs, stating that a tertiary care hospital must have a functional CT scan machine to save time.

“It is ridiculous to shift a patient to another hospital when he comes in such a situation. Every transfer or even movement means additional threat to patient’s life; he has to be moved minimally and carefully. Also every minute counts in trauma case management and such transfers means taking a chance with the patient’s life,” said Dr Narendra Vaidya, EMS expert and chairman of Chinchwad’s Lokmanya Hospital.