Omprakhas Yadav, 42, is still irked about being made to first run around to get a single audio test conducted for his son Aditya, 20, and then finally having to shell out from his pocket at a private clinic because KEM, the biggest civic-run hospital in the city, does not have anyone to conduct an audiology test.
<img title="A doctor from the ENT department confirmed that KEM doesn&rsquo;t have audiologists to conduct the tests" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/aug/07-KEM.jpg" alt="A doctor from the ENT department confirmed that KEM doesn&rsquo;t have audiologists to conduct the tests" /> A doctor from the ENT department confirmed that KEM doesn&rsquo;t have audiologists to conduct the tests
A Right To Information (RTI) application filed by a doctor has revealed that out of the eight posts for audiologists in all the four major hospitals &mdash; KEM, Sion, Nair and Cooper &mdash; only three posts are filled. Because of this, patients are forced to approach private laboratories or wait for days at other BMC-run hospitals.
<img title="Omprakhas Yadav" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/aug/07-Omprakhas-Yadav.jpg" alt="Omprakhas Yadav" /> Omprakhas Yadav
Omprakhas, a technician by profession, said, &ldquo;After enquiring with them continuously, KEM finally told us that they do not conduct audiology tests. We were in a hurry, so we didn't approach Nair hospital as suggested by the hospital as it would have taken 2-3 days more. I was forced to pay R500 at a centre in Dadar.&rdquo;
KEM hospital, in response to the RTI has stated that they conduct 15-20 audiograms every day. But, when mid-day spoke to a doctor from the ENT department, he said, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have audiologists to conduct the tests, so we refer patients to Nair or Sion Hospital.&rdquo;
The waiting list for patients varies from 15 days to two months at Nair Hospital as stated in the RTI. &ldquo;Patients are forced to spend out of their own pockets at private laboratories or centres,&rdquo; said the RTI activist, who filed the application.
As both posts at the hospital are vacant, interns from Ali Yavar Jung Institute are managing the department. The RTI reply reads, &ldquo;At present, the audiograms are managed by the audiology interns from AYJ Institute, but they are not allowed to do medico legal cases/MME fitness.&rdquo; At Cooper Hospital, Dr Neha Chhabria, a visiting audiologist, does the examination free of cost.

Only three of eight audiologist posts at four hospitals have been filled; patients forced to approach private labs

Mumbai: No doctors to hear out patients at civic hospitals

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Mumbai: No doctors to hear out patients at civic hospitals

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