HYDERABAD: In a city that stakes claim of being country's medical and health capital, the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department of Osmania General Hospital (OGH) is not even provided with basic operative instruments.

For almost seven years, the department has not been provided with even the basic but crucial operative instruments such as bone cutters, nibblers, forceps and hammers. "Forget the state-of-the-art instrumentation, we do not even have material that is essential to run a busy department which handles a large number of emergency cases," says an official.

There are no clamps, reamers and bone-holding forceps provided here and doctors end up relying on instruments that are `given out of courtesy' by medical and surgical suppliers. "We are dependent on suppliers and running the show with whatever they give us," a doctor points out.

More emergency cases

Being a major hospital, which attends on road accidents victims from not only the city but also the surrounding districts, there has been a steady increase in the number of both emergency and regular cases here.

On an average, the department attends on 200 outpatients, 30 admissions and at least 30 emergencies everyday, according to Department Head Dutta Tamloorker.

"Almost all emergency cases are grievous ones due to road accidents and demand the best care. Given the equipment shortage, we are struggling to provide proper attention," says another doctor.

In fact, during a meeting of Hyderabad Orthopaedic Medical Education held here in January this year, Prof. Tamloorker had raised the issue of unavailability of basic instruments. "It will not cost more than Rs.20 lakhs to equip the department," he had told the meeting in the presence of Health Minister K. Rosaiah.

No action

Despite the plea and assurance of action, not much has changed in the last eight months. "We do not have C-arm image intensifier which helps in understanding the position of bones while implants are introduced," he rues.

There are no tools for arthroscopy, which helps look into injuries and joint lesions. It may cost around Rs.20 lakhs.

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