Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling told the state parliament on Monday that up to 134 medical machines in three major government hospitals in Odisha are not working because of technical issues. In a written response to a query from Baliguda MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the minister stated that SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack has the largest number of malfunctioning devices, with 93 out of 2,687 machines presently out of commission. While VIMSAR in Burla has reported 13 malfunctioning machines out of 896, MKCG Medical College in Berhampur has declared 28 of its 1,403 machines to be non-functional.
ICU, CCU, SNCU, Surgery and Trauma, Biochemistry, Blood Bank, CTVS, Cardiology, Casualty, CSSD, Dental, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, Urology, and many more vital departments are affected by the faulty equipment. According to Mahaling, the relevant Biomedical Equipment Maintenance Programme (BEMP) service providers have already received directives from the Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL) to fix and restore any malfunctioning equipment as soon as possible. He said that the administration is keeping a careful eye on the situation to make sure that vital medical services are not interfered with.
