Sunita Naik, a 24-year-old, was admitted in Nair Hospital after suffering from a leg fracture. She was immediately taken to the hospital where the doctor asked for an X-ray of her leg immediately. But, she had to wait for more than 40 minutes to get her X-ray done thus delaying treatment.
Currently, the hospital that has a capacity for five X-ray technicians is functioning only with two technicians and so X-rays are not done at nights and evening.
Many times, patients have to be referred to JJ or KEM hospitals.
As per an advertisement published by the BMC, there are 51 vacancies in BMC-run hospitals. In such a situation 13 students who passed out from Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in ‘Advance Diploma in Medical Imaging Technology’, affiliated to Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) were refused jobs in similar posts at BMC hospitals in July 2015.
The advertisement mentioned that the applicants should have educational qualification in ‘radiology’; however the course provided at TMH has a different name, but similar curriculum.
“The wordings mentioned in the advertisement do not match with the title of the course and so was not accepted by the software. So, the candidature of these candidates are not being considered,” said Shankar K. Bhagat, National Co-ordinator of Society of Indian Radiographers, also a radiological technologist at TMH.
“Currently, many unqualified technologists are operating the X-ray, CT Scan and MRI equipment all over Maharashtra in private and government hospitals. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Body (AERB) authorities should take strict action,” said Mr Bhagat.
“Students with no educational qualification in radiography or in-field training in diagnostic radiology are hired in violation of AERB guidelines,” he added.
Students of Advance Diploma in Medical Imaging Technology have filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court and the court has given a stay in the recruitment process and asked the BMC to file an affidavit in this regard.
“Students who opted for Bachelor in Para Medical Technology (Radiology) at Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and other students who pass out from various deemed universities are also not eligible to apply for the post of X-ray technicians in hospitals under the state health department because of the 1983 recruitment rules followed till date,” Mr Bhagat added.
“Refusal to hire students just because of difference in names is unjustified, especially at a time when there are 140 vacancies in various regions of Maharashtra,” he said.
