Bhopal, August 6: Four organizations working with victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy have accused the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) of shutting down pathology services in all eight of its mini-units. They claim that the hospital is now moving towards closing X-ray facilities, which would severely impact access to healthcare for the victims.
The organizations allege that the pathology laboratories in the mini-units have been closed, with equipment and staff transferred to the main BMHRC hospital. This transition has reportedly caused delays in diagnostic reports, with patients being sent home when the only nurse available at the mini-unit is busy collecting blood samples.
Additionally, they assert that mini-units 1, 3, 5, and 8 have stopped accepting X-ray films, forcing patients to travel to the main BMHRC hospital for examinations. According to the organizations, no written orders have been issued for the cessation of these services.
Rachna Dhingra from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) stated, “These mini-units were established to provide healthcare services close to the areas affected by the gas tragedy. Instead of strengthening these units, the management is systematically eliminating essential services.”
The organizations have written to the Union Ministry of Health, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), BMHRC Director Manisha Srivastava, and the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, demanding the immediate restoration of pathology and X-ray services.
On August 5, they sent a letter to the ICMR requesting urgent intervention, claiming that BMHRC has unilaterally shut down pathology services in all eight mini-units and is moving towards closing X-ray services, thereby affecting healthcare access for the victims.
According to the letter, tests such as blood sugar levels, which previously provided same-day results, now take up to 48 hours after the pathology laboratories were moved to the main hospital. The letter also raised concerns about patients being sent back when no nurse is available at the mini-unit and the lack of written orders and records for patients verbally referred to the main hospital for X-rays.
Dhingra emphasized, “The management seems to prioritize the purchase of new equipment over uninterrupted patient care. Suspending functional services without ensuring alternative arrangements undermines the very purpose for which these mini-units were established.”
She further stated that BGIA will raise this issue during the contempt petition hearing scheduled for August 11 in the Supreme Court, alleging that the reduction in services violates the Supreme Court’s directives to provide free and adequate healthcare to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy.
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