Medical Equipment

Technological innovation has brought a transformative change to the healthcare system. These days, health professionals largely rely on the advanced medical equipment to precisely diagnose, treat and monitor patients. Sophisticated imaging system and precise surgical tools have been instrumental in tracing and cure serious as well as terminal diseases. Advancement in cutting edge technology and biomedical engineering have drastically increased the efficiency and reliability of medical procedures while boosting the people’s access to the quality healthcare services. The invention of X-ray in 1895 and ultrasound scanner in 1950s revolutionised the diagnosis methods. The development of CT scans and MRI has added another milestone to the medical science. 

No doubt, the modern medical equipment is a boon to the humanity as they increase people’s life expectancy through improved healthcare. But for the poor countries like Nepal, purchasing, operating and maintaining the medical equipment entails huge financial costs. Seen from the perspective of patients with poor economic backgrounds, getting access to such medical equipment is arduous. But their role in healthcare is immense. Health professionals need specialised training to repair and utilise the sophisticated imaging and therapeutic instruments. Defective and malfunctioning equipment produce erroneous results, which might impel the physicians to make wrong diagnosis of and medication for the particular ailment. In our case, health services have been disrupted due to defective equipment or shortage of them. 

Some Nepali hospitals have performed complex surgery and operations with the help of advanced medical equipment. However, such instruments are also gathering dust in major health institutions due to technical faults and a dearth of experts to maintain them. A recent study conducted in 11 tertiary hospitals in Bagmati, Koshi, Madhes, Gandaki and Sudurpashchim provinces has disclosed that out of the 19,174 pieces of equipment, 1,074 are in good condition but were unused while 1,823 equipment were defective, according to news report of this daily. The irony is that CT scan machines in Bir Hospital, APF Hospital and Koshi Hospital are out of order due to technical problems. Bir Hospital does not have even biomedical engineers to examine the condition of medical equipment. If the malfunctioning machines are used, they will pose a risk to the health of patients and health workers. 

Against this backdrop, the government has initiated a process to repair and bring into use such expensive medical equipment instead of purchasing the new ones. The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and the National Innovation Centre (NIC) founded and managed by Mahabir Pun have reached an agreement with 17 tertiary hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley. The NIC will reach individual agreements with the hospital and its biomedical engineers will implement it in a phase-wise manner. Under the leadership of Pun, the NIC has already proved its mettle by producing medical equipment like respirators for doctors, nurses and patients in ICUs and isolation hoods during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also repaired broken ventilators and kidney dialysis machines. 

Pun has been calling for harnessing the domestic resources and skills for innovation and scientific discoveries. The Ministry has chosen right institution to repair the vital medical machines but it should allocate adequate budget for the Centre so that it will complete the repairing works in time. There are cases where Pun has suffered acute financial scarcity hampering his works.  After the repairing, they must meet regulatory standards to ensure safety, efficiency and quality. After all, patients' health comes in first priority over everything else.