After the malfunctioning of the CT scan machine, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) is also not functioning properly. It is learnt that the machine is not working on full capacity from last few days due to which most of the patients visiting the facility are not getting their MRIs done. The malfunctioning of the important machine has made things difficult for the patients already suffering due to absence of CT scan facility. When inquired, the in- charge of the MRI machine, Mahendra Bhandari claimed that the machine has not developed any snag. He however added that due to continuous power fluctuations due to disturbed weather conditions, the operator has to change the power phase regularly which is taking considerable time. “ We are able to do only 7-8 MRIs in a day as compared to 20 to 25 on a normal day,’’ he said.
As the MRI machine is not operating on its full potential the patients of forced to visit the private hospitals or diagnostic centres. The fee of an MRI in the hospital is Rs 3500 only but on the other hand the private centres charge about Rs 7000 to 10000 for an MRI scan.
The associated hospital of the GDMC is only facility in Dehradun and nearby districts where facility of MRI is available in a government centre.
Meanwhile, the patients are continuing to facing problem as the lone CT scan machine of department of radiology of GDMC hospital which developed malfunctioning in last week of February has not been replaced or repaired yet. As an amount of Rs 40 Lakh was expected to the spent on repair of this important radio diagnostic machine, the hospital administration has decided to replace the old error prone machine with a modern CT scan machine.
The new machine however has not arrived yet. More than 40 CT scans are done by this machine daily and in absence of this facility the patients are forced to visit expensive private hospitals and diagnostic centres to get the CT done. In absence of CT scan facility in the hospital the doctors in some cases were advising MRI scans for the patients resulting in extra load on the machine.