LAHORE, April 19: The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine of the Lahore General Hospital has been lying non-functional for the past two months much to the dismay of the patients.

The Rs81 million worth of equipment, which the Punjab government had procured and handed over to the LGH two years ago, went out of order when “someone pulled out its emergency switch” that caused gas leak and damaged the equipment.

Punjab Health Minister Chaudhry Iqbal had ordered an inquiry into the matter, asking the team to check whether it was a deliberate attempt by some hospital official to leave people with no other choice but to visit private health facilities for the purpose or it was accidental.

Though the LGH administration had filed a complaint with the Kot Lakhpat police station, the officials did not bother to pursue the case.

When contacted, LGH medical superintendent Dr Omar Farooq refused to take queries, saying he was busy and could talk over the issue on Thursday morning.

Provincial health secretary Raees Abbas told Dawn that the equipment became non-functional because of gas leak. However, he said, it could not be ascertained whether somebody deliberately created a fault or it was natural. No responsibility had been fixed in this respect.

Mr Abbas claimed that the machine would be repaired shortly, fifteen days to be precise. He said the department was surveying the serviceable and non-serviceable equipment installed at all the public-sector health facilities and would replace the out-of-order ones.

LGH radiology department head Prof Mansoor Bakhtiari said a new magnet was required for making the MRI machine functional and the insurance company concerned would secure it from the Netherlands.

The Children’s Hospital and some private health facilities are bearing the load of the MRI patients these days.

An official of the Children’s Hospital told this reporter that it had doubled the shift for the MRI patients. “We manage to take tests of 25 or so patients daily”. Before the development, it used to entertain not more than six patients a day, the official said.

Only three public-sector hospitals in Punjab have MRI equipment; the Bahawal Victoria Hospital being the third one.

MRI is a non-invasive diagnostic technique that produces computerised images of internal body tissues. It is generally used for imaging brain to diagnose the exact cause of a disease. MRI systems are available in different configurations and field strength. The configuration refers to the design of the magnet.