Around 1,500 patients who need radiation therapy are facing delays at Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama because its new CT Simulator is not working, the Society of Government Radiological Technologists of Sri Lanka said.
The association said the machine, which replaced the hospital’s old unit, was handed to staff for clinical use last month but cannot be used because of a technical fault.
It said the new machine’s software is incompatible with the software used to plan radiation treatment. A CT Simulator produces the images doctors use to plan radiation treatment accurately.
The association said the delay is causing severe difficulties for patients waiting for treatment.
It added that radiation therapy in the private sector can cost a patient between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 2 million, a heavy burden for those who cannot get treatment in the public system.
