Health ministry in hot water over false MRI stats

A hospital has had to correct health ministry statistics which falsely stated that more than 95,000 people had used MRI services at the facility in a two-year period.

An official at the state-owned Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital told Mihaaru the correct figure is 9,500.

“We provide MRI services from 8am to 11pm. On average it takes between 15 to 20 minutes for an MRI. We complete about 20 to 25 MRIs per day. The figure 95,000 is a mistake,” the official said.

The health ministry announced the statistics Tuesday to showcase the government’s health sector achievements.

Health Minister Abdulla Nazim told reporters that 95,855 people had used the MRI service at IGMH since its launch.

The minister’s comments and the false figures led to criticism and mockery on social media.

“Even if IGMH was doing nonstop MRI for 365 days for 2 years, still there is absolutely no way they can do this amount of MRIs,” one Twitter user remarked.

“Turns out IGMH has MRI machine guns,” another Twitter user said.

Picture: Tweet screenshot from @hanafymv