BANDIPORA, OCTOBER 7 (KNS): The claim of round-the-clock CT scan services at District Hospital Bandipora has come under scrutiny following allegations that patients requiring CT examinations after 4 pm are being referred to Srinagar.

Residents have questioned the functioning of the CT section during evening and night hours, alleging that the facility is not consistently available after 4 pm despite the hospital administration maintaining that CT services are operational 24×7.

Hospital sources said the CT section currently has one NHM employee and four outsourced workers associated with its functioning. The outsourced personnel were reportedly asked not to report for duty about a week ago following the expiry of their outsourcing contract, but were subsequently called back to assist with the work.

Sources claimed that the manpower situation has affected the functioning of the CT section, particularly during evening and night hours, with the night shift allegedly remaining non-functional.

The allegations have raised questions over the actual availability of emergency diagnostic services at the district hospital, particularly for trauma and accident cases.

A local resident, Irfan, alleged that patients requiring CT scans after 4 pm were being referred to Srinagar.

“If an accident takes place after 4 pm and the patient requires a CT scan, the patient is referred to Srinagar within minutes because the facility is reportedly not available,” he said.

He added that Srinagar is around 60 kilometres from Bandipora, making such referrals particularly difficult for critically injured patients.

Residents said referrals to Srinagar could increase the financial and logistical burden on families and potentially delay diagnosis and treatment in emergency cases.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The manpower arrangement at the CT section has also come under scrutiny, with sources claiming that only one NHM employee is presently available for CT-related operations while the remaining manpower has been engaged through outsourcing.

Questions have also been raised over the training and certification of personnel working at the facility. Sources claimed that the NHM employee had undergone CT-related training for a few months, though the exact nature and duration of the training, certification status and scope of duties could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, sources alleged that the four outsourced workers have not received payments for the past seven months and were being paid an honorarium of around Rs 2,500 per month.

The reported delay in payments has further raised questions over the contractual arrangement and the functioning of outsourced manpower at the facility.

Residents have urged the hospital administration and the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir to clarify the actual operational status of the CT facility, particularly during night hours, and explain why patients requiring CT examinations after 4 pm are allegedly being referred to Srinagar.

They have also sought the deployment of permanent and adequately trained technical staff, arguing that emergency diagnostic services at a district hospital should not depend on an uncertain manpower arrangement.

The hospital administration's response to the allegations was not immediately available.(KNS)