SHILLONG, July 17: The multi-disciplinary investigation centre at Pasteur Institute is expected to be fully operational within the next seven to eight months.
The state government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Suraksha & Salvia Global LLP for setting up the state-of-the-art diagnostic centre in public-private partnership mode in 2019.
The project got delayed for 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally inaugurated on January 21 this year.
“It took us three years to put the project in shape. We decided to start the project with the existing structure of pathology, biochemistry and microbiology that was already in place,” Suraksha & Salvia Global LLP founder, Christopher Rani told The Shillong Times here on Sunday.
He said the project needs to be inaugurated to ensure that it takes off well. “The initial stage will always take time and once a proper foundation is made, there is no stopping,” he added.
He said the pathology department is fully functional and around 908 blood tests can be done in the laboratory.
Rani also said they have a doctor from AIIMS in the pathology department and an associate staff who worked with NEMCARE.
He also said they are planning to set up kiosks in the hospitals, CHCs and PHCs to collect the samples of the inpatients and bring them to the centre for testing.
Rani said they will send the report to the hospital once it is completed, adding that there will be five or six ambulances to cater to the inpatients who need to come to the centre for testing.
The services to be provided at this centre will be linked with Megha Health Insurance Scheme Phase-V, he added. “Currently, the MHIS is not supporting the pathology patient. We are waiting for MHIS-V to be launched,” Rani said. He also said they are planning to provide service 24/7 once the centre is fully functional.
Rani further said the electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, electromyography (EMG) and portable EMG machines will be installed in the pathology department. The centre has a cardiology specialist for this setup.
He also said they will need another six to eight months for the radiology department to start functioning since the equipment and machines will have to be installed.
“The equipment takes at least two months to be brought by ship before being transported from the international border very delicately,” he said.
“The supply of equipment depends on the vendors and we have no control over it. The equipment has been ordered by the state government. Our role as per the agreement signed with the Health Department was to provide the expertise and run this centre,” Rani said.
He said the services which will be available in the radiology department include MRI, CT scan, Dexa scan, cardiology and ultrasound.
“All the non-pathology tests will be done once the equipment and machines are installed. We have been empanelled under MHIS-V for the entire services in the radiology department. We will provide a 30% discount from the market on the expensive tests not covered under MHIS-V,” Rani said.
Besides the pathology and radiology departments, Suraksha & Salvia Global LLP will handle the reception, the OPD department and the administrative block.
“We are waiting for the state government to hand over the building for the reception and OPD department. As a private partner, we would like to see the centre start functioning fully at the earliest,” he said.
He said they will also have their CSR activities by reaching out to the people in the rural areas and conducting the pathological tests free of cost.
Rani said the project is trying to convince local talents, including radiologists to come back to the state.
