6 months on, no MRI facility at GMSH-16

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, July 23

Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, has been functioning without a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine for over six months due to which patients are forced to get the test done from private laboratories by shelling out more.

Rs 4-crore Machine to be installed

A state-of-the-art MRI machine costing Rs 4 crore will be installed at the GMSH-16 with new technology. The MRI scan from this machine will cost half the amount charged by private laboratories.

MRI is a non-invasive imaging technology that produces three-dimensional detailed anatomical images. It is often used for disease detection, diagnosis and treatment monitoring. The brain, spinal cord and nerves, as well as muscles, ligaments and tendons are seen much more clearly with MRI than with regular X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scan.

For this reason, MRI is often used to image knee and shoulder injuries.

The eight-year-old MRI machine at the GMSH-16 was ordered to be replaced earlier this year.

Officials said a tender had been placed for the new state-of-the-art machine costing around Rs 4 crore. The contract for the old MRI machine had expired following which the facility was withdrawn.

Once the new machine is installed, the MRI scan at the GMSH-16 will cost far less than what is being charged by private laboratories.

An MRI scan at the GMSH-16 cost approximately Rs 2,700, depending on the region of the body to be scanned. However, private laboratories are charging up to Rs 5,000 for an MRI scan.

At present, patients are being told to get MRI done from a private laboratory or wait endlessly at the PGI for their turn as the waiting time at the premier hospital is too long.

In the absence of the facility on the premises of the GMSH, the authorities had made an arrangement with a few private laboratories to offer MRI tests at subsidised rates to poor patients under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Suman Singh, Director, Health and Family Welfare, GMSH-16, said the new machine would be installed in two months and the tender for installation had already been passed.