More report for radiological tests at MNH

lydia shekighenda

THE number of patients undergoing radiological tests at Muhimbil National Hospital (MNH) has increased by 130 per cent in the period of one year of President John

MNH’s Head of Communications, Mr Aminiel Aligaesha, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the number of patients undergoing the tests has increased after the hospital repaired its Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerised Tomography Scan (CT-Scan), hence attracting more patients due to reliable services.

He said that the impromptu visit by President John Magufuli at the national facility in November, last year, saw the functioning of the important machines which were out of order for two months.

“Following the president’s directives, the machines were repaired and they are now functioning well, thus increasing the number of patients seeking the services from the national facility,” he noted.

Mr Aligaesha noted that in the period between December 2015 and October 25, this year, the MRI machine alone served a total of 17,951 patients compared to 1,911 patients who were tested between December 2014 and October 2015.

“This is equivalent to an increase of 839.35 per cent,” he remarked. He added that during the same period, the hospital’s CT-Scan served 10,259 patients compared to 3,319 who were tested between December 2014 and October 2015, which is equivalent to 209.09 per cent.

“Generally, the avaluation on radiological tests including MRI, CT-Scan, Utra-Sound and Plain X-Ray inndicates that a total of 55,073 patients were tested between December, last year and this October compared to 23,989 patients who were served between December 2014 and October 2015, equivalent to an increase of 129.57 per cent.,” Mr Aligaesha observed. He also said that the hospital’s revenue collection per month has also doubled to 4.6bn/- per month from 2.3bn/- .

Mr Aligaesha noted that according to statistics, between December 2015 and October 2016 the hospital collected an average of 4.6bn/- per month compared to 2.3bn/-, which was raised during the same period in the past year.

“This is a big achievement in terms of revenue collection within the short period of time ... it is an indication that the hospital is capable of generating enough income to cover its operational costs,” he pointed out. On availability of medical drugs, Mr Aligaesha commented that currently, patients at the hospital access the service by 96 per cent from the hospital’s drug outlets.

“We have improved our drug dispensing system to ensure that all patients get the prescribed medicines from within the hospital ... currently patients have access to the service by 96 per cent compared to the past where they accessed the medicines by between 35 and 45 per cent,” Mr Aligaesha further noted.

He said that MNH has also adopted cost-cutting strategy by purchasing medical drugs from the manufacturers after getting a permit from the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA).

Mr Aligaesha said that the hospital has managed to save 274m/- after purchasing immunosuppressant drugs from the manufacturer at 226m/- instead of 500m/- if the drugs were purchased within the country. It has also placed an order of sutures from manufacturers at the cost of 321m/- instead of 668m/