Hyderabad: The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at Osmania General Hospital has not been working for 20 days. Emergency patients are being taken to Gandhi and Niloufer Hospitals.
The MRI machine in OGH needs a part that is not being replaced or repaired by the company. A source said, “The company’s bills for the machine were pending and for that reason company officials are not coming forward to repair it. When the issue of patient Shaikh Hafeez was raised in January, Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust stepped in and gave '11 lakh to the company to start the machine. Other pending bills to the tune of '20 lakh were also cleared. But the company officials have still not come to repair it.”
OGH superintendent Dr G.V.S. Murthy said, “The company officials have been reminded and they have stated that the machine will be repaired in a day or two. So far, for emergency patients I am personally ensuring that it is done in Gandhi and Niloufer hospital.” For selective surgeries, the patients are told that they will have to wait till the machine is repaired. Another senior doctor at the hospital said, “There is a token system for diagnosis. The patients are given numbers in these two government hospitals and a waiting period of one week to 10 days is applicable.”
Despite paying the money, government officials state that the wait is proving to be too long as they have at least five to seven patients everyday with doctors recommending only extreme cases.
