New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) standing committee has approved the project to provide CT scan and MRI facilities at rates 20% lower than prescribed CGHS rates at Hindu Rao Hospital, Swami Dayanand Hospital (SDH) and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis (RBIPMT).Under the public-private partnership model, a private agency will invest Rs 120 crore over a 10-year concession period, with no financial burden on MCD. While the services will take three to four months to be operational, officials said that more hospitals can be added to the project in future. As of now, only Hindu Rao has a CT scan facility, but that is also based on old technology, said an official.Standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma said that the corporation aims to provide modern healthcare facilities at affordable rates to the common citizens of Delhi, particularly patients from economically weaker sections. “The expansion of CT scan and MRI services at these three hospitals will make advanced diagnostic facilities more accessible and help patients undergo essential medical investigations at lower costs.”The project cost includes approximately Rs 40 crore in capital investment for installing machines and making other necessary arrangements, and around Rs 80 crore towards operational expenses. The entire expenditure will be borne by the contracted private agency, and MCD will only provide the designated space and hold its ownership.“Under the project, a minimum of three 128-slice CT scan machines and three 1.5 Tesla MRI machines will be installed across the three hospitals. A Radiology Information System or picture archiving and communication system (RIS/PACS) will also be provided for digital reporting and management of diagnostic records,” said Sharma.A senior official said that ideally 10-15% of patients coming to the indoor patient department and being recommended MRI or CT scan tests by doctors should be provided services within the hospital. “We are working in same direction so that people won’t need to go far. These units are expected to become fully operational in March,” said an official.SDH receives a daily footfall of 1,800-2,000, Hindu Rao 2,500-3,000 and RBIPMT around 500.
