ESI patients in Telangana face up to 45-day wait for diagnostic scans
Hyderabad: Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) hospitals across Telangana are struggling to provide timely specialised healthcare services, with patients being referred to distant hospitals and forced to wait up to 45 days for MRI and CT scans due to inadequate diagnostic facilities.
Patients from Nacharam and Ramachandrapuram (RC Puram), among other areas, are reportedly being referred to the ESI Super Speciality Hospital at Sanathnagar for specialised consultations and diagnostic investigations, despite the availability of empanelled private hospitals closer to their locations, reports the Daily.
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According to patients, the ESI Super Speciality Hospital at Sanathnagar does not have MRI and CT scan facilities. As a result, patients are directed to the adjoining ESI Medical College for diagnostic investigations. However, appointments for scans are reportedly being scheduled 30 to 45 days later, depending on availability.
The process involves multiple visits to the hospital, as patients must return for their scheduled scans, collect reports and subsequently attend another consultation.
An RTI response issued by the ESI Medical College and Hospital, Sanathnagar, this year revealed that 13 emergency cases were referred to other hospitals in 2022, nine in 2023, four in 2024 and one in 2025. These referrals were reportedly necessitated by the non-availability of ICU beds or facilities required to manage specific medical emergencies.
The hospitals to which patients were referred included NIMS, Pace Hospital and Medicover Hospital.
Speaking to TNIE, Galibe Vishal, member of the Hospital Development Committee at ESIS Hospital, Nacharam, said patients requiring specialist consultations, CT scans and MRI investigations were being referred to Sanathnagar instead of nearby empanelled private hospitals. “The delays often required patients to make three to four visits for scans, report collection and further consultation, causing inconvenience and loss of time,” he added. He said ESI authorities had assured, following a complaint, that patients requiring scans would be referred directly to the medical college instead of first being sent to the super speciality hospital. However, the arrangement is yet to be implemented.
He further said that the process of floating tenders for procuring CT and MRI equipment had been initiated, but the facilities were yet to become operational. This was despite earlier assurances that the procurement and installation process would be completed within three to four months.
Vishal also pointed out that the figures disclosed through the RTI application covered only emergency referrals and did not reflect the overall number of patients being referred elsewhere for specialised treatment and diagnostic investigations.
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