Hyderabad: NIMS offers free diagnostic tests for OGH patients

Hyderabad: The Osmania General Hospital has entered into an agreement with the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences to refer patients requiring advanced and expensive laboratory tests which are not available in the general hospital.

This would benefit the poor patients who come from various parts of the State for treatment of ailments like tumour, liver problems, cancer among other ailments. As the facilities for major tests like genetic tests, antibody tests, tumour detecting test, liver function test, mammogram and renal function are not available in Osmania hospital, the patients have to depend on private diagnostic centres which are charging anywhere from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. The agreement with NIMs will help these patients to get these tests done free of cost.

Nearly 3,000 patients visit Osmania Hospital and on a daily basis, around 5,000 common tests are taken up. According to doctors, some cancer patients would require tests like histopathology which is not available in OGH.

The agreement with NIMs will help all such patients. OGH has the equipment, staff and other necessary items to conduct common tests like X-rays, CT scans, blood tests and urine tests. But it does not have facilities for conducting major tests.

Though the State government had recently provided some new equipment to the hospital it does not include equipment or facilities for conducting major tests. Since the pressure on the NIMs diagnostics would increase, it is learnt that NIMs has decided to hire the services of more medical staff and lab technicians so that the referral patients' needs can be taken care of.