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Government hospitals to have private labs

State lets private players to pump in Rs 250 crore.

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Radiology and imaging services – be it x-rays or high-end MRIs – at district-run hospitals will get privatised over the next year with an investment of more than Rs250 crore by private health care providers.

Of 35 government-run hospitals in three clusters: Vidarbha, Marathwada and rest of the state, Enso Healthcare and General Electric will set up mammography, colour doppler, digital x-ray, CT scan and MRI units in up to 22 district hospitals in Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra.

This is touted as the biggest outsourcing venture in the state’s health care sector with an investment of over Rs150 crore by Enso Healthcare in 22 district hospitals.

“Tender processing for 13 district hospitals in Vidarbha is underway. An additional Rs100crore will have to be invested to develop the Vidarbha cluster,” said a senior public health department official.

Sources say the state has got into privatisation as radiological services at district and rural hospitals are in a bad shape since a decade.

Almost 50% of hospitals that have CT scan machines have no qualified doctors to run them. “Fourteen of 35 posts for radiology doctors are vacant. Also, of 19 CT scan machines, most are not working,” said Dr Satish Pawar, joint director, national rural health mission.

The state has claimed that facilities, including MRI and mammography which were earlier not available at district hospitals, will be available at affordable rates.

Health minister Suresh Shetty said, “We hope to cover a minimum of 60% of population through Rajiv Gandhi Yojana Scheme Card holders who earn less than Rs1 lakh a month and also lower costs of general population by 50 percent.”

Vice-chairman of Ensocare, Dr Akil Khan, said that Enso Healthcare is slated to earn estimated profits of up to Rs1,000 crore in the next 10 years even as it caters to poor patients for free in Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra.

Health care activists, however, are sceptical. “Instead of investing in renovating machinery at a small cost, the state is handing over reins to private players. Ideally, it must universalise free health care,” said Abhay Shukla, co-convenor, Jan Swasthya Abhyan.

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