RAWALPINDI: Patients in the district are forced to visit expensive private laboratories as the lone Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine in Holy Family Hospital has been dysfunctional since 2008.

No other public hospital in the district has the facility, including the three hospitals in Rawalpindi and the six tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospitals of the district.

The Rs110-million MRI machine at HFH was installed in 2004 but since then, only 600 patients have availed the facility as it remained out of order time and again.

Despite the passage of seven years, the provincial government has not taken notice of the issue and the machine has not been repaired. As a result, doctors refer their patients to private laboratory and clinics for MRI tests.

According to doctors, 100 patients on average need to undergo an MRI test daily in the three public hospitals of Rawalpindi. Each patient has to pay an average Rs7,000 to Rs12,000 for the tests at private clinics while the government hospital charged between Rs3,000 to Rs5,000.

“For me, (public) hospitals are now useless as I have to approach private laboratories for my son’s MRI tests. He (son) had fallen from the third storey and sustained a serious head injury,” said Mohammad Karim who had admitted his ten-year-old son at Holy Family Hospital.

“After two days, doctors asked me to get an MRI test from a private hospital. I had to arrange for an ambulance to shift my son to the nearby clinic for his tests,” he added.

He said he worked at a private company and belonged to the salaried class. “The tests were expensive and I had to borrow money from my friends for the treatment of my son,” he told Dawn.

Similarly, Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah, another attendant, said his mother was suffering from a head injury and was admitted at District Headquarters Hospital. He said he also had to shift his mother to a private clinic for MRI tests after every two weeks.

“Had this facility been available in public hospitals, I would not have to borrow a loan from my relatives for my mother’s treatment,” he said.

On the other hand, doctors said that they had no option but to inform patients that MRI tests could not be conducted at the hospital.

“There is no such facility here and we have to refer them to private hospitals,” said Dr Junaid Abbasi of HFH while talking to Dawn.

Providing details of the tests, he said MRI was conducted for diagnosing head injuries, brain tumors and liver and spinal chord problems.

“The provincial government had done nothing to install or repair the machine while patients criticise doctors for the lack of facilities,” he said.

Similarly, Holy Family Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Arshad Ali Sabir said the hospital administration and Rawalpindi Medical College had informed the government about the absence of the MRI machine but had not received any response yet.

“The government provided a CT scan machine worth Rs50 million to HFH which would be functional next month,” he said, adding that the MRI machine would also be available soon.

When asked when, he reiterated that the government would provide it soon.

Former District Nazim and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Vice President Raja Tariq Mehboob Kiani, when contacted, lashed out at the provincial government for claiming provision of health facilities while practically, people had to suffer.

“It is the duty of the government to provide free health and education facilities to every citizen,” he said.

He added that his party would raise the issue in the provincial and national assemblies if the government failed to provide necessary equipment to public hospitals.