Pune: Patients admitted at Aundh District Hospital (ADH) are forced to travel about 3-4 km for an MRI scan as the private agency supposed to provide the services at the hospital is yet to install the scanning machine, two years after it received the contract from the state govt. While the civil surgeon wrote to the health dept multiple times about the issue, the Unique Wellness Centre (UWC) operator at ADH stated that they are awaiting payment from the state. Nagnath Yempalle, civil surgeon, Pune district, said, “The public-private partnership contract was given to the Mumbai-based agency by the state govt in Aug 2024, and since then we have written to the agency as well as the state govt to install the MRI machine. As of now, patients have to travel 3-4 km from the hospital to conduct the test at the private agency, where patients get free MRI. However, for in-house patients, it is definitely an inconvenience.” The UWC got the contract to run a CT scan and MRI diagnostics centre at ADH in Nov 2023 to start the services by Feb 2024. However, the agency is yet to install the machine. The cost of a single MRI can cost anywhere between Rs2,000 and Rs10,000 in a private facility in Pune, and hence, to ensure that no poor patients are deprived of this facility, the govt started these services on a PPP basis. In July 2025, the civil surgeon issued a show-cause notice, a copy of which is with TOI, to the agency, demanding a reason for the delay in installing the machine. The letter said, “The six-month deadline to install the machine is over as per the terms and conditions of the contract between the agency and the state govt. However, only the CT scan machine is installed. The agency already took over the place where the machine was to be installed. There are many complaints from patients regarding this, as they have to travel far away from the hospital for a scan.” A fortnight ago, members from the state health department visited the hospital and found the MRI department in ruins, and patients forced to step outside the hospital for a scan. In view of this, on Wednesday, health minister Prakashrao Abitkar, issued a warning to all outsourcing institutions to ensure that they deliver what they promise. Abitkar said, “The civil surgeons and deputy health officers are also asked to conduct regular inspections in all hospitals that have such third-party service providers. It is mandatory for outsourced institutions to strictly follow the quality, transparency, and rules laid down by the department while providing services. We will take penal action against institutions violating the terms of the contract, including cancelling the contract and, if need be, blacklisting the firm.” In the meeting, Abitkar said it must be ensured that the wages are paid to the employees working in third-party institutions on time. However, in a letter to the civil surgeon dated June 2, 2025, the agency complained that they are awaiting payment since Aug 2024. The letter, a copy of which is with TOI, said, “The continued delay and non-payment for the services rendered is severely affecting all payments at our end to run our operations. Despite our constant effort to maintain high standards and uninterrupted services, the absence of payments of 70% as well from Oct 2024 from the authority brought us to the point of cracking. Due to this prolonged delay in payment of 70%, our radiologist team is compelled to consider stoppage of CT and MRI scan reporting services with immediate effect. Should the team proceed with this course of action, we will be handicapped in providing CT and MRI scan reporting services as per our contract.” Jaipal Ravat, who manages the UWC unit at ADH, said, “We wrote to the state govt about the problems we are facing, and we communicated with them on a regular basis. Payment is surely an important issue, but we have other issues as well.”
