Siraha, August 23

Patients visiting Mirchaiya Primary Health Centre of Siraha district have been affected as authorities have not brought into use its X-ray machine citing lack of space.

Fifty-five-year-old Jugutlal Yadav of Mirchaiya Municipality-8 reached the primary health centre on Friday for treatment. The doctor at the hospital examined him and told him to bring an X-ray report. On the hot August day, he walked about a kilometre to have his X-ray done.

“If the centre provided X-ray service, I didn’t have to suffer the heat and pay hefty sum to a private clinic for the service,” said Yadav. The X-ray machine of the health centre has been collecting dust for about two years now.

The Department of Health had sent the x-ray machine two years ago after the machine it had sent to the health centre about eight years ago broke down. Dr Rakesh Yadav, chief at the health centre chief admitted that the patients were suffering due to lack of X-ray service.

“The first X-ray machine was out of order before I was posted here and it has yet to be repaired. We lack a room to install the new machine. Therefore, it’s lying idle,” said Dr Yadav, who added that given the harmful rays coming out of the machine a separate room was required to install the machine. “In fact, we had thought of hiring of private house and install the machine there, but as we couldn’t get a suitable house nearby to install the machine, our plan failed,” said Dr Yadav.