Newz Desk, Durgapur: For elderly retired employees of Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP), seeking treatment at the DSP Main Hospital has become an ordeal. The hospital’s X-ray machine has remained non-functional for more than five months, forcing many senior citizens and old patients to travel outside the hospital for a basic diagnostic test and then return for further consultation.
For many retired DSP employees and their dependants, the hospital remains their primary healthcare facility. But the prolonged breakdown of the X-ray machine has added to their physical and financial burden, particularly for patients suffering from age-related ailments, fractures, joint problems and other conditions requiring immediate radiological examination. Patients who arrive at the hospital after suffering an injury are reportedly being referred to diagnostic centres outside the hospital. After undergoing the X-ray, they have to make another trip back to the DSP hospital to show the reports to the doctor and continue treatment.
The situation becomes particularly difficult for elderly patients who have difficulty walking or travelling long distances. Families often have to arrange private vehicles or other transport to take them to diagnostic centres in and around City Centre and other areas.
Rabin Mukherjee, a retired DSP employee said that elderly patients are being made to shuttle between the hospital and outside diagnostic centres simply because the hospital’s own X-ray facility has remained unavailable for months.“Most of us are old and depend on the DSP hospital for treatment. Going outside for an X-ray is not easy at this age. After travelling to a diagnostic centre, we have to come back to the hospital again with the report. For a person with a leg injury or severe pain, this becomes extremely difficult,” he said.
Debashis Choudhury, vice-president of Hindustan Steel Workers, the INTUC-affiliated union at DSP, said, “It is embarrassing to think that the hospital of a Maharatna company like SAIL has had a non-functional X-ray machine for five months. If an accident occurs inside the plant, an injured worker will have to be taken outside for an X-ray.”
The problem is especially serious for patients who require an X-ray immediately after an accident or injury. Instead of being examined and diagnosed under one roof, they have to be transported elsewhere for the test, causing additional delay and discomfort.
Sourin Sarkar, whose elderly father, a former DSP employee, recently suffered a leg injury, said his family had to take him to the City Centre area for an X-ray because the machine at the DSP Main Hospital was not functioning. “After getting the X-ray done outside, we had to take him back to the hospital for treatment. Taking an elderly and injured person from one place to another like this is extremely difficult,” he said.
Retired employees and their families have questioned why a hospital serving a major Maharatna public sector steel company has been unable to restore such an essential diagnostic service for more than five months. Several trade unions have already submitted deputations demanding a new X-ray machine. Hospital authorities have reportedly assured that a new machine will arrive after the Durga Puja festivities.
Until then, however, elderly patients who depend on the DSP Main Hospital continue to face the inconvenience of leaving the hospital premises for a service that should ideally be available under the same roof.
