BANGALORE: A "cholesterol reducer" machine purchased by Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital a few years ago for Rs. 64 lakh has not been used even once. The machine, which is now out-of-order, is abandoned in a corner of the hospital.

Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital is only the second government hospital in the country to own this equipment. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, has this equipment.

The machine was purchased in 1999 based on the recommendations of a three- member committee. But it has never been used because of the cost involved in running it. Every time it is run, the machine would cost Rs. 80,000, hospital authorities said.

The cholesterol-reducing machine works similar to a dialysis machine and extracts cholesterol from the blood stream. "Every time we use the machine, we need to import several parts so that we can run it once again," said an official at the hospital. "It was a bad buy and a wasteful expenditure. We have no use for it," the official said.

Another problem is that doctors did not advise the use of the machine often.

It is prescribed only for people with dangerously high levels of cholesterol such as that which occurred when a person had a genetic disorder. "We normally do not see patients who have such extreme levels of cholesterol. For those with levels of cholesterol from moderately high to high, we recommend diet control and prescribe medicines," the official adds.

Another panel

Last year, a three-member committee was instituted to look into the issue of the machine.

The committee, which has met thrice, decided that it would be in Bowring and Lady Curzon's best interest to sell the machine. However, they have not yet been able to find any takers for the machine.

"No one is interested in the machine because it can be used for such a limited purpose. It is an outdated model and is no longer in working condition," the official added.

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