Patna Medical College and Hospital. Telegraph picture

Patna, March 2: The decision of the state health department to scrap the contract of the agency running the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) without making an alternative arrangement has come as a rude shock to patients. It has compelled them to cough up extra bucks to get their MRI done or to wait till some other organisation is assigned the task.

The health department cancelled the contract of the agency running the gadget at the hospital on February 25 for allegedly not operating and maintaining it efficiently. The MRI machine at the Rajendra Surgical Block of PMCH was the only such facility at the 1,675-bed hospital. A source in the hospital said Softline Media Limited had been operating the gadget at the hospital on public-private partnership model for the past one year.

“The hospital charged Rs 3,500 for every test. It costs between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 in private laboratories. For patients admitted to the hospital, the cost of an MRI scan was fixed at Rs 3,000. As the facility has been completely stopped, patients have no other option but to go to the laboratories outside PMCH and shell out extra money,” said a senior PMCH official.

Patients at the hospital said that the state health department had behaved irresponsibly.

“In the emergency department of the hospital, X-Ray and CT scan machines are defunct for the past several months. Now, the only MRI gadget available with the centre will be unavailable. We have to buy costly drugs, as the hospital does have many essential medicines. Apart from the consultation fee and bed charges that are low, we do not get any respite here. Now, even the MRI service has been withdrawn. This will be an added burden on us,” said Danapur resident Birju Jha, whose relative is suffering from a kidney ailment.

Patna High Court had recently asked the PMCH authorities to expedite the process of properly equipping the hospital with diagnosis machines and to procure life saving drugs.

“The steps taken by the state health department and hospital administration, however, leave much to be desired,” said a patient.

Efforts made to contact officials of Softline Media Limited went in vain as their office was closed today because of Maha Shivaratri.

An MRI scan can give a very clear picture of soft tissue structures near bones. It is an essential tool for diagnosis of spinal and joint problems.

“The MRI is widely used to examine the heart, aorta, coronary arteries and blood vessels as well as for diagnosing coronary artery diseases and heart problems,” said a doctor.

“Through this scan, physicians can examine the chambers of the heart and determine the extent of damage caused by a heart attack or a progressive heart disease. Organs of the chest and abdomen, including the lungs, liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas and abdominal vessels can also be examined in detail with MRI scan,” said a doctor in the outpatients’ department of the hospital.