“A great boon”

The installation of the latest generation Siemens CT (computed tomography) scanner at The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital (PGH) "has proved to be a great boon for the Zoroastrian community since for the indigent and poor patients the CT scans are carried out totally free of cost," noted Hospital chief executive officer Lt Gen (Dr) Manomoy Ganguly (retd) on December 1, 2021 in a communication to Parsiana. For the subsidized patients, the scanning will be undertaken at 50% of the regular charges.

Since the new scanner is "capable of carrying out all the common scans with high image quality," patients will no longer be compelled to travel to Breach Candy Hospital (BCH) for this facility. As per the arrangement between the two hospitals, CT scans at the BCH cost Rs 6,000 to 12,000 depending on the organs that require scanning, stated Ganguly. In addition, patients are expected to bear the ambulance cost to ferry them back and forth.

The machine was donated in memory of Hilla and Col Pesi Bharoacha by the executors and trustees of the estate of the late Col P. M. R. Bharoacha. Installed on the ground floor premises where the Radiology Department is located, it was inaugurated by Dr Bakhtiar Bhesania, trustee of the estate on November 18. On an average a couple of scans are performed each day at the PGH, stated Ganguly.

Last month a new laundry machine and four food warmer trolleys to deliver hot meals to patients were bought by the PGH from the latest donation made by the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY). Prior to that another donation from ZAGNY had made possible the installation of two new air conditioning (AC) chiller plants. Additionally a personal contribution from Yasmin Ghadialy of USA resulted in the purchase of 16 new Sintex water tanks to replace the old ones.

Yet another recent addition is the installation of a third generator, with a capacity of 500 KVA to ensure an alternative source of power in an emergency. "The AC chiller plants, generator and laundry machines are replacement for our 20-year-old machines," specified Ganguly. Parinaz M. Gandhi