The state’s first ever MRI scanning centre under the public health sector will be inaugurated at the Ernakulam General Hospital in Kochi on Saturday.
Union Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi will inaugurate the scanning centre which will be open to the public on Saturday. With the opening of the MRI scanning centre, the hospital hopes to receive an ‘A’ grade, MP P Rajeeve said. The `5.25 crore centre has been funded from Rajeeve’s MP fund.
It also received financial aid from former MP Kapila Vatsyayan and the Cochin Shipyard. According to Rajeev, who addressed the media here on Thursday, the rate for an MRI scan will be around `1,500 to `3,000.
“This is expected to be a major relief for patients. In private hospitals, scanning costs range between `6,000 to `10,000. Also the Ernakulam General Hospital is the only hospital in the country which will provide free MRI scans to poor patients,” he added.
A special committee will be constituted to monitor the financial situation of patients.
“We expect to provide free scans to twenty per cent of the underprivileged,” said DMO Junaid Rahman.
A hospital development committee has also been formed under the District Collector. The facility will be available for 24 hours every day. “There will not be any delay in monitoring the MRI scans since doctors have access to the scanning procedures even at homes. The machine has been fitted with a special facility to enable this,” Junaid Rahman added. The 1.5 Tesla MRI machine will be useful in tracking brain nerve fibre, studying degeneration in the knee joint, pancreatography, perfusion of the brain, study of arteries and veins and early diagnosis of stroke, hospital superintendent Dr Annie said.
Hospital authorities expect 10-15 patients per day since it is one of the most sought after tests. Union Minister KV Thomas, former Supreme Court Justice Krishna Iyer and Cochin Shipyard MD K Subrahmaniam will also be present.