Bogra Ziaur Rahman Hospital-II
Costly medical equipment set to rust away
Costly medical equipment lie unused at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital in Bogra since opening of the institution over three years ago as the authorities are yet to arrange skilled technicians and required chemical reagents.Photo: STAR
A good number of costly medical equipment, including a linear accelerator worth Tk 19.68 crore, have been lying idle at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital in Bogra for the last three years mainly due to shortage of manpower and chemical reagents. The Central Medical Stores Depot had supplied medical equipment worth Tk 60.70 crore to the 500-bed hospital that was inaugurated on August 31, 2006, during the BNP-led four-party alliance rule, said hospital sources. It was built at a cost of Tk 223 crore. But several pieces of equipment including Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy are not working properly or lying idle for a long time due to various problems including lack of required software of computerised machines and trained manpower, the sources said. Due to faulty design of the machine room and radiation leakage the linear accelerator of radiotherapy department has remained unutilised for long. The Public Works Department started repair work of the machine room a few months ago to manage radiation leakage but the machine is yet to start functioning. Hospital Director Brig Gen Md Shafiqul Islam told The Daily Star over phone a few days ago that most of the machines have been functioning properly while the linear accelerator is likely to start functioning within February this year. Meanwhile, several technicians were sent to India for training to run the idle equipment. A number of equipment including automated biochemistry analyser, blood gas and electrolyte analyser and automated cell counter have remained idle at pathology department for a long time due to lack of chemical reagents, sources said. Digital X-ray machine worth Tk 1.20 crore is not functioning properly due to shortage of printer and skilled technician. Exercise tolerance test (ETT) machine worth Tk 11.45 lakh and electrocardiogram (ECG) machine along with Holter monitor also could not function for long due to shortage of skilled technicians, hospital sources said. For the same reason, many costly machines including ECG are operated by nurses or unskilled persons. Dialysis set worth Tk 15.81 lakh and haemodialysis machine worth Tk 8.75 lakh are yet to be handed over to the hospital authorities even after completion of the project, sources said, adding that a few contractors have taken bills without supplying proper equipment and software.
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