Mumbai: All four tertiary care hospitals under the BMC are set to receive a 3 Tesla MRI machine each, nearly a year after the amount was first allocated in the budget. A tender for procurement was recently issued, bringing relief to hospitals struggling with outdated or inadequate machines.
Doctors from these hospitals have long highlighted the urgent need for additional MRI machines. At KEM Hospital, a senior doctor said, “A single functioning MRI machine has been catering to a growing number of patients, resulting in wait times stretching up to six months.”
Many of the patients visiting civic hospitals in the city come from distant parts of the state. Long delays force them to either return for the scan much later or pay high charges at private centres.
The addition of one MRI machine per hospital is expected to significantly reduce wait times. “An extra machine will likely cut the backlog in half,” the doctor added. tnn