Telangana: You can flag faulty medical equipment now

Hyderabad: Tired of running around private diagnostic centres for various tests as government hospitals do not have functional equipment? Now, a patient, a doctor, a staffer or lay people can flag an issue related to maintenance of medical equipment at government hospitals and it will be taken up for rectification.

In a latest development, the state health department has allowed general public to raise complaint for damaged and non-functional devices .

People can call on 8888526666 or log on to https://emmstelangana.uat.dcservices.in/ to flag an issue and it would be taken up on priority. "Anyone can flag an issue and any hospital equipment that costs over 5 lakh will be taken up for repairs. It could be an ECG machine, ultrasound or MRI machine or any other equipment, which cost upwards of 5 lakh. The time taken for repair will be as per the standard timelines required for each equipment," a senior health department official said.

The move is meant to cut down on procedural delays in repair of crucial equipment as many a times CT and MRI machines lie unused for months together due to pending maintenance issues.

For the first time in the state, the health department has formulated a policy for maintenance of medical equipment 'Bio Medical Equipment Maintenance'. Officials revealed that a special programme monitoring unit (PMU) has been set up at the Telangana State Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC) to maintain the equipment from time to time.

"All details of medical devices are registered on the web portal. Any damage to medical equipment worth over 5 lakh can be immediately reported by a doctor, a patient or any other member of the public unlike earlier when it had to go through proper channel," the official added.