The premiere medical institute of the country has been making its patients wait for treatment, some of them for over a year now, as a few of the required diagnostic machines lie in need of repair or are simply not functional.
Quayamuddin, who suffers from a skin disease known as the Port Wine Stain has been making rounds of the institute for the last one-and-a half-years for a simple laser treatment, which involves using the Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL) machine. The cause of delay seems to be that the machine is not functional.
“It is important to get a CT scan before starting the laser treatment. I got the scan done in April, 2015, and was told to return in May. All my reports were fine and I was declared fit to sit for the laser treatment,” he said.
Doctors had told the patient that at least 10 laser sittings would be required, the first one done on May 29, 2015. “Since then, I have been visiting the hospital every three months but the machine is lying dysfunctional,” he said.
Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who runs an NGO for poor patients and is helping Quayamuddin in his case, said: “I have written to Union Health Minister JP Nadda about the problem, requesting him to intervene in the matter.”
Sources reveal that this is not the only case and more than 50 patients are waiting for the same treatment. “We have made several calls and requested doctors to help us, but nothing has happened. We have been here for one year now,” said Rani Kumari from Bihar, who has come for the treatment of her five-year-old son.
AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr DK Sharma said: “I am not aware of this problem. We have a proper system in place, wherein machines that are not working are replaced at the earliest. Regarding this specific case, I will check with the Head of the Department, and if anything of this sort is happening, we will ensure that it gets rectified.” as reported by the DNA.