Patients at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run and BYL Nair Hospital are dealing with the issue of constant malfunctioning of the MRI machine. This has led them to get services at private diagnostic facilities, with additional costs.
The MRI machine, purchased in 2018, has been non-operational since December 2023. The cause of the malfunction is attributed to broken parts and a shortage of helium gas. This situation forces patients to seek MRI services at other public hospitals.
Despite the machine being given an end-of-life certificate in January of the previous year, hospital authorities instructed the radiology department to continue using it until a replacement was procured. Tenders have been submitted for a new machine, but details remain undisclosed.
According to reports, the cause of the malfunction has not been determined yet. Hence, the hospital is forced to send patients to other BMC-run hospitals with MRI facilities, like KEM Hospital in Parel and LTMG Sion Hospital, until the machine is repaired or a new MRI machine is installed.
This is not the first time patients have been facing issues because of the malfunctioning MRI machine. There have been reports of patients facing issues with the machine as early as 2018. The BMC and hospital administration have also been slow in procuring new equipment since then.
Reports suggest that internal politics have hindered the acquisition of new equipment, causing delays in the release of tenders. Despite the urgent need for new equipment expressed to the central buying department in 2018, a solution is yet to be found.
The regular malfunctions have not only affected patients but also impacted the practical courses of the hospital's thirty radiology students. The hospital has now been sending technicians for repairs when the equipment malfunctions.
Share
Tweet
