CUTTACK: Taking stern note of the inability of the Gastroenterology Department of SCB Medical to render advanced healthcare services despite having stateof- the-art equipment for want of ancillary infrastructure, the Orissa High Court on Friday directed the Head of the Department (HoD) to submit a report on the people responsible for the lapses.Taking cognisance of a news report published in this paper on the dysfunctional state of advanced endoscope retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) and double balloon enteroscope due to absence of a c-Arm, a Division Bench of Justices BP Das and I Mohanty sought the report on the status from the HoD.The report should be submitted by December 2.The amount of loss incurred by the patients on account on non-availability of services would be recovered from those officials, the Bench ruled.The Bench also asked the HoD to inform on what other infrastructure needed for the Gastroenterology Department to render effective services to the ailing people along with the staff situation and requirement of personnel.The TNIE had in a report on November 2 had revealed that high value advanced ERCP unit and double balloon enteroscope, procured at over Rs 1 crore and Rs 52 lakh respectively three months back, were lying idle while patients were forced to go to private hospitals and cough up huge sums.The ERCP unit is used to diagnose and treat problems of liver, bile and pancreatic ducts and gall bladder. The c-Arm is essential to several operations of ERCP as it provides live images on the progress of the endoscopic procedures.In its absence physicians would have to go about blindly raising chances of complications. The non-operational of ERCP and double balloon enteroscope have also threatened to affect the superspeciality DM course in Gastroenterology.The Bench also directed the Government to complete the process of selection and recruitment of Assistant Professors in the three medical college and hospitals within three months. The Government should submit an affidavit on the progress by December 2.The Court also issued notice to the State Government on the conditions of the Sardar Vallavbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (SVPGIP) better known as Sishu Bhawan. The Assembly Committee, which had visited the premier paediatric hospital of the State in July this year, had reported serious deficiencies in infrastructure and facilities there.The hospital did not have emergency unit while the ICU was not up to the mark.There were no facilities for patient attendants in the hospital.The Committee had also called for making the hospital an autonomous institution. The Bench directed the Government to submit a compliance report by the next date of hearing. The High Court appointed Advocates Committee to visit the VSS Medical, Burla, and submit a report on the conditions there on the next date.
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