Shocking! Machines used to diagnose cancer remain unused in JJ hospital for 5 years

Mumbai: Not having the right machines and equipment in government hospitals is an oft-read story. But this one is the exact opposite. In spite of having machines that can help early diagnosis of cancer and rare diseases in the blood , the JJ hospital, the state government's premier hospital in the city, isn't using them.

Flow Cytometer and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) — the two machines bought at the cost of over Rs 1 crore have not been put to use by the JJ hospital for the last five years.

The machines are critical during the diagnosis of cancer that is in the first stage. However, since the tests are not available at the JJ hospital, patients either have to rush to Tata hospital and other private hospitals and diagnostic centres, increasing their expenditure on such tests. Sources said that the machines are lying unused due to unavailability of training technicians.

According to medical experts from JJ hospital, the machines were gives to the micro-biology department two years ago. However, even they stopped using it after a few months. The machines are also useful in diagnosis of illnesses such as Sickle Cell, Lymphoma.

In Private Pathological labs, these tests costs around four to five thousand rupees.

Maharashtra Times tried to get a response from the Pathology department head Dr. Dacosta, however, there was no response.

About machines

— Flow Cytometry is a technology that is used to analyse the physical and chemical characteristics of particles in a fluid as it passes through at least one laser.

— IHC is an important application of monoclonal as well as polyclonal antibodies to determine the tissue distribution of an antigen of interest in health and disease.