The demand for installation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL)’s main hospital at Kothagudem has gained pace.
There has been a demand from various trade unions operating in the coal belt region for introducing the MRI scan facility, the sophisticated non-invasive diagnostic tool known for its wider applications in medical diagnosis, at the SCCL’s main hospital here. There are six area hospitals and 23 dispensaries in the coal belt region spanning across six districts in the State. Various trade unions, including the CITU-affiliated Singareni Collieries Employees’ Union (SCEU), have long been insisting that the SCCL management provide all the advanced diagnostic and treatment facilities at the SCCL-run hospitals. There is a need to install the MRI machines at least at two Singareni hospitals, one at the main hospital in Kothagudem and the other at the area hospital at Godavarikhani, to provide modern diagnostic and treatment facilities to the needy SCCL employees, their family members and the retired staff, said M. Narasimha Rao, General Secretary, SCEU. The management of the SCCL is contemplating entering into an agreement with a private entity to start the MRI facility under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, he said.
Such move to involve a private firm would entail huge financial burden on the company, he said, adding that there was no rationale in involving a private company when the SCCL has the requisite financial resources, technical and medical staff to operate the MRI facility on its own.
The State-owned coal mining giant should drop the move to adopt the PPP mode and take immediate measures to purchase the MRI machines with its own resources for operating the facility in a self-sustainable manner, he insisted.
