The state government has admitted in Orissa High Court that most of the district headquarters hospitals don’t have modern testing equipment and are running without adequate number of specialist doctors.

The state government conceded it in an affidavit filed in response to a PIL seeking judicial intervention “to protect public health care system from clutches of private operators”.

High court lawyer Chittaranjan Mohanty, 68, had filed the petition seeking the court’s direction to the state government to equip all headquarters hospitals with life-saving testing and preventive equipment, including medicines.

Mohanty had alleged in his petition that modern testing equipment were either not available in government hospitals or were made defunct so that patients had no other option but to go to nearby private testing clinics who demand higher price.

In the affidavit, special secretary of health and family welfare, Nrushinghananda Brahma said: “Modern testing equipment — such as USG, X-ray, ECG, CT scan and other equipment — were available in some headquarters hospitals. Pathology equipment are also available.”

Brahma, however, claimed in his affidavit: “There is a provision of Rs 25 crore in this year’s budget to provide equipment to various headquarters hospitals and instructions had been issued to the chief district medical officers (CDMOs) to submit proposal for procurement of equipment wherever it is not available.”

Taking note of the affidavit produced before the court on October 29 in the presence of the petitioner, the division bench of Chief Justice K.S. Jhaveri and Justice K.R. Mohapatra posted the matter to November 27 for hearing. The court expected the petitioner to file a rejoinder, if any, by then.

Mohanty had in his petition alleged that sanctioned posts of doctors in the DHHs and referral medical college-cum-hospitals (MCH) in Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur were not being filled up to serve the interest of private nursing homes and clinics.

“There are dalals (touts) who spread canards against government hospitals and are active all the time on the campus of these hospitals itself to divert patients to their private nursing homes to receive commissions,” the petitioner said.