Rourkela: An unused laparoscopy machine lying at the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) here has prompted medical superintendent Dr Ganesh Das to look into the matter. He has ordered a probe as to why it has been lying unused for close to a year now despite the presence of trained technicians in the hospital. Since the machine was installed at RGH in July 2023, it has been used only once. The decision to buy the laparoscopy machine was taken by a three-member committee headed by the then-director and medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Santosh Swain. The matter came to light after a technician from a private nursing home was called to assist in surgery. This development attracted the attention of Dr Das. He did not permit the visiting technician to enter the operation theatre and initiated a probe as to why others were being called from outside when RGH has its experts using the machine. Sources informed that the Gynaecology department of RGH had raised the necessity of acquiring a laparoscopy machine.
Accordingly, a proposal to buy the machine at Rs 1.5 crore was presented to the Power Grid Corporation of India and the machine was bought and installed in July 2023. It was used to conduct surgery on the 18th of the same month. However, since then it has been gathering dust. Sources informed me that the one-year warranty of the machine will be over soon. Hence, it must be used regularly to find out if there are any technical problems. Accordingly, a decision to use the machine March 10 was taken.
On the scheduled date, when the technician identified as Bhagaban Maharana arrived, Dr Das denied him permission to enter the OT. He also issued a show cause to surgeon Dr TK Das, for inviting an outsider to assist in the surgery. The question being now asked is why a three-member committee decided to buy such a costly laparoscopic machine. Dr Das informed that he has informed the state Health Department on this issue.
