A shortage of helium has affected the MRI scan facilities in government hospitals in Chennai. For nearly two months, government hospitals have been struggling with a huge backlog of patients requiring scans. Patients have even been shunted from one hospital to the other.
S. Murari said he had sought appointment for MRI scan in September at the GH and was asked to come on October 1 but on that day, he was sent to Stanley as the equipment in the GH was faulty. “I was asked to come on Oct. 9 but since the equipment had run its quota of scans, I was told to come back on Oct. 10. On that day again, I was told the machine had run its quota. ‘It is not a Xerox machine,’ the technician told me,” he said.
What patients like Mr. Murari are unaware of is that there is a scarcity of helium all over the world. There is only 30 years’ supply of helium left worldwide.
Helium is used to cool the magnets in Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines. The machine in GH which has an optimum capacity of 18 scans, takes around 30 scans each day. Head of Bernard Institute of Radiology at the GH K. Vinitha said “We had difficulty procuring helium. The company had difficulty getting supplies,” she added. According to her there was a problem for three weeks when patients were referred to other hospitals. On Monday, the machine began functioning normally and 32 scans were taken, she said.
At Stanley hospital the technical glitch was set right after two days by the technicians. . One of the reasons for the huge rush for MRI scans in government hospitals is that patients pay nearly a third of what is charged by private scan centres.
The GH has already floated tenders for an improved version of the MRI machine. Hospital Dean V. Kanagasabai said, “What we have is 1.5 Tesla model. We have sought 3 Tesla machine which is a higher-end model. We have been using the machine more than its stated capacity and it is bound affect the machine.”
A senior officer of Bharat Scans confirmed that helium shortage had been an issue two months ago. “We did not have problems as we had procured the required amount when we had only 40 per cent stock,” he said.
