As the city prepares for more showers in the coming week, which may lead to more cases of vector-borne diseases, there are many government hospitals in the Capital where blood bank machines and equipment are either not working at all, or have technical faults, and keep breaking down.
An investigation by DNA found that the blood cell separator machine at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital, is old and breaks down most of the time. A blood cell separator is a machine that segregates different components of the blood to be used by various patients. In the monsoon season, the necessity of these machines is even more necessary.
"The machine is working as of now, but you do not know when will it break next. These are old machines and cannot be relied on," says Doctor Dheeraj Bhatheja, General Secretary, Resident Doctor's Association, GTB Hospital.
"In this season, the demand for blood and its components rises and thus we need everything up and running. SDP (Single Donor Platelets) for dengue patients are needed, the machine is working but they have to spend another Rs, 10,000 for the kit as the hospital is always short on those kits," he adds.
It's not just GTB, Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital's blood bank is facing similar issues. One of the two deep freezers at the hospital has not been working which is making it difficult for the staff to store blood.
"These are old machines and it is very normal for them to break down every now and then, what is important is we get them serviced sooner or later," says Doctor Sunil Kumar, Medical Director, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. "As per the government protocols, we cannot get new machines until these machines have outlived themselves and cannot be repaired anymore," he adds.
