• Patients forced to seek costly private tests

Patients awaiting MRI scans at the Out Patients Department (OPD) of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), Colombo, are facing serious difficulties after the service was suspended on 3 March due to alleged machinations of a specialist medical practitioner.

Informed health sources from the NHSL OPD told The Daily Morning yesterday (8) the MRI was used to obtain scan images of patients who had suffered injuries in accidents and those scheduled to undergo neurosurgery were facing severe inconvenience as a result. They said the particular machine had been utilised to perform MRI scans on more than 25 patients per day. In addition to this machine, two other machines were currently being used to perform patient examinations at the NHSL. 

Sources claimed that patients who are scheduled for MRI scans were currently being discharged from the Hospital due to the inability to perform the tests. "They are being told the tests would not be performed due to a breakdown of the machine. However, in truth it is not a breakdown of the MRI scanner but the influence of the particular medical specialist for their personal gain."

Medical sources of the Hospital told The Daily Morning that desperate patients were forced to undergo tests from the private sector spending between Rs. 30,000 and 120,000 for a test. 

However, when contacted by The Daily Morning, Acting Deputy Director General of the NHSL, Dr. Pradeep Wijesinghe said that the NHSL, Colombo OPD had received a new MRI machine and that medical specialists had been deployed for its functioning.