BMC Revives Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital CT Scanner With Sion Spare Part
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has restored the non-functional CT scanner at the Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Hospital in Jogeshwari by installing a compatible spare part salvaged from a scrapped machine at Sion Hospital. The critical diagnostic machine had been out of service for nearly four months due to delays in importing a replacement component from overseas.
The restoration comes as a major relief for the Jogeshwari facility, which caters to approximately 25 to 30 patients requiring CT scans every day. The availability of the scanner is particularly critical during the monsoon season, when emergency cases and road accident injuries typically see a surge.
During the four-month breakdown, doctors at the hospital were forced to refer patients needing scans to other civic facilities or rely on alternative imaging methods. Scans were routinely referred to Cooper Hospital, Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital (Shatabdi Hospital) in Kandivali, and V.N. Desai Hospital in Santacruz. Although services at those municipal facilities are offered at BMC-approved rates, they are operated by private agencies under outsourcing arrangements, with revenue going to private operators.
In several emergency cases, doctors had to use MRI examinations as an alternative imaging option. While CT scans are usually the preferred first choice for evaluating head injuries, fractures, internal bleeding, and other emergency trauma cases due to their speed, MRIs increased both waiting times and expenses for patients. A CT scan at the Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital costs approximately Rs 1,200, whereas an MRI scan costs around Rs 2,500.
Dr. Pramod Ingale, Dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (Sion) Hospital, confirmed the transfer of the spare component. He stated that one of Sion Hospital's three CT scanners had been scrapped, and its compatible component was utilized to repair the machine in Jogeshwari, successfully restoring diagnostic services.
Dr. Ingale added that Sion Hospital is currently in the process of procuring a new CT scanner, which will be operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The revival of the Jogeshwari scanner is expected to significantly reduce outside referrals and ensure timely diagnostic care for trauma patients in the region.
