The state-run hospitals don’t have the facilities to provide super-speciality treatment, so private hospitals are the only option for patients, observed Asok Bhattacharya, state urban development and municipal affairs minister, on Wednesday.

“I request private hospitals to lower their rates for the poor, who want to avail of their facilities but cannot afford the price,” said Bhattacharya, inaugurating eastern India’s first multi-slice CT scan machine at Suraksha Hospital, in Salt Lake. The machine, capable of making a total body scan in 45 seconds, has been installed at the hospital at an estimated cost of Rs 4.75 crore. It was developed in December 2003.

Also known as the fastest non-invasive angiography machine, it can chalk out 43 different pictures, both three-dimensional and two-dimensional, in just a second. A heart scan will take the machine just 14 to 20 seconds.

“Since about 40 per cent of eastern India’s estimated total population is vulnerable to cardiac ailments, we believe the machine will help us evaluate the exact health condition of patients,” said Somnath Chatterjee, chief executive officer of the hospital. The cost varies from Rs 2,000 to Rs 9,500, depending on the nature of the ailment.

Also present at the inauguration was state transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, who was satisfied with the “reasonable rates” for the process.

Hospital officials explained that apart from the scan report, a compact disc and a colour photograph of the test results will also be handed over to patients for future referrals.