Hours-long queue for a bill before an X-ray at Rudrapur district hospital: short staff at the counter, slow system and frequent server outages; principal says arrangements will improve soon

Patients who come for an X-ray at the district hospital in Rudrapur, run under the medical college, have to stand in line for hours just to get a bill made first. According to Amar Ujala, the bill counter is short of staff and the system runs slowly; the counter often shuts when the server goes down. The hospital's OPD sees more than 1,500 patients a day. On Thursday, one patient said he had been in line since 10 am and his turn had not come by 12; a woman who needed an X-ray after an injury had been waiting two hours for the bill. The elderly and women face the most trouble. Attendants allege that staff leave the counter. According to the X-ray technician, an X-ray cannot be done without the bill. Medical college principal Dr Chandra Prakash Bhainsora said the arrangements will be improved soon so that patients get their bills on time.