Waiting list for MRI test at civic hospitals grows

Mumbai: With the MRI machine at Nair Hospital being shut after the mishap, patients have been diverted to other municipal hospitals resulting in a rise in the number of people, who are on waiting list for MRI tests.

On Saturday evening, Rajesh Maru, after getting sucked into an MRI machine, had inhaled the liquid oxygen, due to which he died on the spot. Following the incident, the machine has not been in operation and is likely to remain shut for few more days.

According to sources, patients on the emergency at Nair Hospital are now being diverted to other municipal hospitals – mainly KEM and Sion Hospital. This has resulted in increased pressure at these hospitals for MRI tests.

There are six BMC hospitals – KEM, Nair, Sion, Cooper, Kandivali Shatabdi and Govandi Shatabdi – which have MRI test facility. Every day, about 35 MRI tests are carried out at the civic hospitals. Due to the cheaper rates, municipal hospitals are always preferred by patients for MRI tests. They are carried at only Rs 2,500 at civic hospitals as against the charges of Rs 7000-12,000 at private hospitals.

Following the mishap at Nair, the MRI test facility is now available at only five civic hospitals. “Patients admitted in municipal hospitals are always given priority for MRI tests, whereas outside patients have to wait for two to three months for getting the tests done. Due to the closure of MRI machine at Nair Hospital, the waiting list for outside patients is likely to increase further,” said an official.

The restoration of MRI machine at Nair hospital is going on, and it will be in operation soon, he added.