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Thane’s ₹1.45-cr mobile mammography van breaks down
Two months after its launch, the mobile mammography van is no longer functional and gathering rust. The van, which cost Thane Municipal Corporation ₹ 1.45 crore,
Two months after its launch, the mobile mammography van is no longer functional and gathering rust. The van, which cost Thane Municipal Corporation ₹ 1.45 crore, was to carry out examinations in each ward and provide cancer detection services free of cost.
The van is currently undergoing repairs and expected to be operational by Sunday.
On July 16, the health department introduced a mobile mammography service to detect breast cancer.
The fully-outfitted van was expected to conduct 20 to 30 mammographies daily. Since its launch, two mammographies have been conducted in the van, as per information released by the health department at the standing committee meeting held on Tuesday. The van stopped functioning within a month of its inauguration.
At the meeting, Shiv Sena’s Naresh Mhaske, who is also chairman of the standing committee, said, “The corporation introduced the mammography van two months ago. However, this van is nowhere to be seen. The van was going to visit each ward office to provide cancer detection services free of cost.”
Health officer Anirudha Malgaonkar said, “Rain water leaked inside the van owing to which it rusted and stopped working. We asked the concerned company to repair the van. However, they claimed the work was outside their scope. After repeated requests, the company agreed to repair it.”
The van was supposed to be staffed with trained technicians who would conduct mammographies among less privileged sections.
The scans would be sent to Kalwa Hospital for analysis and patients would be intimated by SMS or email once the reports were ready. Those diagnosed with breast cancer would be sent to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa for primary treatment.
If terminal or severe stages of cancer were detected, patients would be sent to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
