Now Reading: KGMU ultrasound wait of 46 days pushes patients to private labs
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KGMU ultrasound wait of 46 days pushes patients to private labs
Patients at King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow are facing ultrasound appointment delays of up to a month and a half, forcing many to seek costly private diagnostics. A 23-year-old patient…
Patients at King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow are facing ultrasound appointment delays of up to a month and a half, forcing many to seek costly private diagnostics. A 23-year-old patient with abdominal pain was given a date 38 days away, while a 65-year-old woman was told to wait 46 days. Even admitted patients face waits: a 13-year-old boy on a ward got a 10-day delay.
Patients said the wait causes anxiety when doctors need imaging for urgent treatment. Many cannot afford the Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 charged by private centres. A KGMU spokesperson attributed the rush to changing weather and said steps are being taken to increase slots and staff.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The bottleneck at KGMU reflects a structural issue: India's public hospital system handles far more patients than its diagnostic capacity was built for. Under the Clinical Establishments Act and state rules, public hospitals must offer essential diagnostics at affordable rates, but equipment and radiologist posts often remain unfilled for years. The Supreme Court, in its 2023 ruling on Parmanand Katara vs Union of India, held that emergency care cannot be denied, but follow-up imaging waits like this fall into a regulatory grey area. The KGMU administration's promise to increase slots will need to match the actual patient load: if the backlog stems from a shortage of sonologists or machines rather than appointment scheduling, the wait could persist. The next test will be whether the promised additional staff and slots are in place before the winter surge that KGMU's own spokesperson cited as a cause.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
