Patients left in limbo as legal dispute stalls Hamidia Hospital’s upgraded CT, MRI units

Bhopal:Hamidia Hospital has what most government facilities can only dream of: two sets of MRI and CT scanners in separate blocks, offering CT scans from Rs 900 and MRIs from Rs 2,000.Hundreds of patients stand to benefit — yet the expansion has been overshadowed as a dispute with the previous operator has slowed the transition process.The issue came into focus during additional chief secretary (Health) Ashok Barnwal's visit to GMC last week, when officials acknowledged that work on a new hospital block has been delayed due to the operator's refusal to vacate.What should have been a showcase of expanded diagnostic capacity has instead exposed administrative bottlenecks at Hamidia Hospital.Until Barnwal's visit, both facilities were said to be functional and receiving patient referrals. Since then, GMC dean Dr Kavita Singh and the operator appear aligned on one point: patients are no longer being referred to the old unit. "We are getting patients through our contacts," said Shivam Gupta, operations manager for Falguni Nirvana Private Limited.A new diagnostic unit has already been installed in the upgraded hospital block, and authorities say it is ready for use as per new NMC norms. However, as the legal dispute continues, Hamidia's modernisation push remains stalled, leaving expanded diagnostic capacity underutilised.