By Jai .C
Hyderabad: At a time when medical tests are rising in private hospitals, the state-run Niloufer Maternity hospital here has managed to improve its services, which has come as a boon for those who can’t afford to pay huge medical bills.
The government-run Niloufer Hospital off-late has managed to speed up the process to take and give out certain test results quickly for the benefit of patients who come there on a daily basis. From the TIFA (Targeted Imaging for Foetal Anomalies) scans to other things like Renal Function Test (RFT) and liver function test (LFT), the hospital has managed to quickly release some test results in as much as 13 minutes.
All this has been attributed to new equipment and machines installed in Niloufer hospital recently, said doctors. The tests there are also free of cost for the general public.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Dr T.Usha Rani M.D (Professor and Superintendent of Niloufer Hospital) said, “The hospital has various departments consisting of a Biochemistry lab, Pathology, Microbiology and Radiology. The new equipment helps us to work in a better way and to diagnose the patient in a hassle-free environment,” she said.
The superintendent explained that the outpatient and inpatient load goes up to 1300 to 1700 tests normally. Emergency tests are conducted and reports are uploaded on the hospital’s website for quick access for the doctors to get the information of the patients, she said.
“The TIFA scan for pregnant women recently marked the highest number of tests conducted by Niloufer hospital. The count went up to 460 in a month” She added further
Dr P. Kiranmayi (HOD Biochemistry) from Niloufer Hospital also said that the microbiology department does 13,000 tests in a month, while the bio-chemistry department conducts 80,000 tests.
Another lab technician also said that the new equipment in the lab has made testing processes easier, and has also brought down the duration it takes time to get results. “We have the latest equipment installed in the lab ‘Beckman Coulter’ worth Rs 75 lakh, which test RFT, electrolytes, and LFT (liver function test),” he added.
Other tests like the hormones and markers tests include ( TSH, T3, T4, VIT D etc) and take approximately 18 minutes per test. The patient’s doctors can get the Complete Blood Picture (CBP) as well, that takes 2 minutes per test. “whereas reports are generated for reference online for the inpatients. The outpatients can avail of the reports next day after the test.
To see if Niloufer Hospital test results were given quickly indeed as claimed, this reporter spoke to a few private clinics and a few private hospitals. None actually were ready to give test results in the short time span that Niloufer hospital gives.
Apollo Hospital, one of the known names, said it charges about Rs 3,000 for RFT, LFT, LIPID profile and an electrolyte test. Reports are given to the patient after 12 hours of testing. Similarly, when contacted, Vijaya diagnostics said it charges Rs 2,630 for RFT, LFT, LIPID, Electrolytes, and some other tests or services. Reports for the same are issued in about six to eight hours (in case of emergency, if requested, they reports are given in four to six hours).
Niloufer hospital was established in 1953. It was founded due to her empathy for the poor and the sick. (Local stories have persisted that it was named after Princess Niloufer, one of the last Nizam Osman Ali Khan’s daughter-in-laws, after her maid had died during childbirth.).
According to the website of Niloufer Hospital, it was established as a 100 bed hospital with a vision to meet the health needs of mother and child had marched forward with no looking back. Presently it has bed strength of 1200 with advanced maternity, pediatric, pediatric surgery supported by excellent diagnostic facilities.
