At a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to upgrade its hospitals and clinics and even begin robotic surgeries, the civic-run BYL Nair Hospital continues to struggle to procure new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines. In the last two years, there has been an underwhelming response from bidders to tenders floated by the BMC.
๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ-๐ฟ๐๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น๐
There is one MRI machine in each of the four civic-run hospitals โ KEM, Sion, Nair and Cooper. However, one additional machine is required to fulfil the pending and emerging needs. There are additional machines but their specification needs to be scrutinised by the Central Purchase Department of the hospitals. While civic hospitals charge Rs2,500 for an MRI, private hospitals and clinics charge nothing less than double this amount.
An emergency meeting was held at the BMC headquarters in December last year with Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar. A senior radiologist said the purchase was to be finalised in 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the entire healthcare machinery was diverted towards its management.
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He said, โWe had asked for a 1.5 Tesla MRI machine but no vendor came forward. This time we are going for the advanced 3 Tesla MRI machine. The process was held-up due to red tape. We do not expect the machines to be installed before six-seven months.โ
๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
Dr Kumar said they have sanctioned Rs120 crore in the 2023-24 BMC budget to procure a new machine, which he assured will be installed soon.
In the meantime, the recurring technical snags in old machines are inconveniencing patients, who are forced to get MRIs done at private clinics. A senior official said on condition of anonymity that the new machines wonโt be in service for at least three more months.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น๐
Poor people visit civic hospitals as they canโt afford treatment at private hospitals. However, their indignation is amplified when they are forced to shell out money for key tests outside the hospital. The resilience of those below the poverty line gets tested when they have to wait for an MRI for months due to non-functional machines and an overburdened radiology department. Mostly the decision of surgery is based on an MRI.
The matter of non-functional MRI machines at Nair Hospital dates back to February 2018, when a patient, Rajesh Maru, a resident of Lalbaug, was killed after being pulled into the machine with an oxygen cylinder. After the incident, the hospitalโs radiology department was shut for a few months and patients were asked to visit private clinics for MRIs.
๐ก๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
A hospital official said on condition of anonymity, โWe were to procure a new machine after the incident, but the process was stuck as there were no bidders. During the pandemic, we put up a tender seven times but there was no response from any of the bidders. As a result, we repaired the old machine for use.โ
The official added, โWe learnt that the BMC tendering process is very difficult, owing to which bidders find themselves restrained. Moreover, the higher authorities pointed out unnecessary loopholes in the tender so they can add their commission. The retendering work involves a lot of paperwork and it takes two to three months.โ
๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น
Sion Hospital, too, is facing a shortage of MRI machines. It currently has two, out of which one has been used extensively and is 11 years old, therefore requiring heavy maintenance. โWe conduct about 25 MRIs per day. It is a lengthy process that takes about 45 minutes, unlike CT scans, of which we conduct about 150 every day,โ said hospital Dean Dr Mohan Joshi. Sion Hospital sees a demand of roughly 100 MRIs every day, Dr Joshi said.
