The MRI facility at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, one of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) major healthcare facilities, has remained non-functional for the past 10 years, leaving thousands of patients without access to the essential diagnostic service.
The MRI machine installed at the hospital developed a fault in 2016 and has not been repaired or replaced since. As a result, the MRI department has effectively remained shut, forcing patients who require scans for urgent or detailed diagnosis to seek treatment elsewhere.
According to the hospital administration, several technical teams and experts inspected the machine after it broke down and explored possible ways to restore it. However, the issue could not be resolved.
The technical teams also informed the KMC about the nature of the fault and the repairs required. Hospital officials subsequently sent several letters to the Karachi mayor, seeking intervention to restore the MRI facility.
Despite repeated inspections and correspondence with the KMC, no practical progress has been made so far.
Patients requiring MRI scans are currently being referred to other public-sector hospitals, including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Civil Hospital.
