QUETTA: Despite claims on the part of the government, Computerised Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines have remained out of order for more than three years in Balochistan’s largest government-run hospital.

The expensive machines, installed in Quetta’s Bolan Medical Complex Hospital (BMCH), are yet to be repaired. Meanwhile, patients and their attendants endure difficulties due to the lack of functional machines.

Patients who require important and consequently expensive x-rays, are usually referred to private hospitals from the government-run hospital

Zia ul Haq, a taxi driver from the border town of Chaman, is one of hundreds of patients admitted in the Neurology Department of BMCH.

Talking to Dawn.com, he said: "I have been told that I need to get an MRI scan from a private hospital...I had to borrow money from relatives to have my sister’s scan conducted."

The provincial government had purchased an MRI and a CT scan machine in the year 2005, which cost more than Rs9 crores.

A Computerised Tomography (CT) scan machine. -Photo by author

The provincial government had purchased an MRI and a CT scan machine in the year 2005, which cost more than Rs9 crores.

The amount was allocated for purchasing the expensive equipment through a drought fund during late Jam Muhammad Yousaf’s government.

“We are trying to repair the machines but there are some bureaucratic hurdles,” Dr. Masood Nousherwani, the Superintendent of BMCH told Dawn.com.

Currently, the cost of an MRI machine in the market is around Rs20 crore.

Chief Minister Balochistan Dr. Malik Baloch has repeatedly claimed that his government has given top priority to the health and education sector and that substantial amounts are allocated for this purpose.

However, the condition of government-run hospitals negates such claims.

“I did a CT scan from a private hospital which costs Rs5000,” Khudai Nazar, a hospital attendant told Dawn.com.

Quetta houses more than 40 private hospitals, with a large number of quacks running poorly-equipped clinics in the outskirts of Quetta.

There seems to be no check on part of the concerned authorities to take action against fraudulent medical practitioners and private hospital owners who are making money right under the auspices of government functionaries.

Officials in the health department however argued that the machines are likely to be repaired within the next few weeks.

MS BMCH, Dr. Nousherwani said that a summary for funds required to repair the machines has already been sent to the health department for approval.

An employee of the hospital, who requested anonymity, told Dawn.com that the administration was deliberately not repairing the machines since it (administration) had cemented good relations with private hospitals.

He alleged that owners of private hospitals, in collaboration with senior hospital staff members, were involved in delaying tactics regarding the repair of the machines.

MS Nousherwani, however, dispelled this impression and said that efforts were being made to ensure the immediate repair of the machinery.