MRI facility at HFH from June Building work almost completed

GOOD NEWS FOR DISTRICT POPULATION

Rawalpindi

The population of Rawalpindi district would hear good news of getting the facility of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine that is being installed here at Holy Family Hospital in town within next four months.

It is important that the facility of MRI has not been provided to the population of an estimated five million people of the district for well over 10 years at any public sector healthcare facility in town and the patients requiring it have to avail it at private set-ups.

The facility of MRI is being provided to public for the second time with the efforts of Rawalpindi Medical College administration as earlier the facility of MRI was provided to public through the MRI machine installed here at the HFH in 2005, however, it worked properly for not more than 12 months in all since its commissioning as it remained out of order for most of the time.

The breakdowns occurred at the installed MRI machine periodically and in 2009, the Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif asked the provincial health department to look into the matter to resolve the issue on permanent basis but nothing was done at that time.

We prepared a scheme for new MRI machine recently and the Punjab government has approved it and the budget for purchasing the new machine has also been released, said RMC Principal Professor of Medicine Dr. Muhammad Umar while talking to ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

He added that last week, he signed a cheque of an amount of Rs170 million for purchase of new MRI machine that would hopefully be installed at the HFH till June this year.

The construction work at the building where the MRI machine would be installed at the HFH would most probably be completed within next few days as presently floor tiles are being fixed in the building, said Professor Umar.

It is important that the MRI is considered to be the most essential equipment particularly in treating patients at a neurosurgery department. It is used mainly for diagnostic purposes in cases having problems related to spinal region, the lower back and head injuries.

In the allied hospitals, DHQ Hospital has been operating neurosurgery department for nearly 22 years while the HFH has also been operating a neurosurgery ward for about eight years but the patients requiring MRI are referred to private setups for the facility.

The MRI machine being installed here at the HFH would facilitate patients reaching the three teaching hospitals in town including HFH, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital, said Professor Umar.

It is worth mentioning here that the unavailability of MRI in public sector hospitals is putting patients in a miserable condition as they have to pay at least Rs7,000 to Rs15,000 for availing the facility at some private setup while the MRI at a government hospital costs not more than Rs2,500.