Rodrigues Left Without Vital CT Scanner for Over 2 Years

Patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital continue to face a diagnostic crisis as the facility’s CT scanner remains out of service, a failure that has now stretched since November 2023.

Health Minister Anil Bachoo confirmed the prolonged outage in response to parliamentary questioning from MP Jacques Edouard.

The situation has sparked growing concern over the island’s ability to provide specialized medical imaging to its residents.

One Final Attempt at Repair

Despite multiple failed attempts to fix the equipment, a final technical intervention is being considered.

However, this is strictly contingent on the supplier providing guarantees regarding the scanner’s reliability post-repair.

The supplier, FTM Ltd, has demanded a 50% upfront payment for the repair costs.

The Rodrigues Health Commission has agreed to this condition to facilitate one last effort to bring the machine back online.

Procurement Delays for Replacement

While repairs are being weighed, the government has moved to acquire a new CT scanner. Although the procurement process began between April and May 2025 through the Central Procurement Board (CPB), the project has hit bureaucratic hurdles.

The CPB requested a revision of the technical specifications, requiring input from both a biomedical engineer and the Electrical Services Division (ESD).

While the Ministry of Health has submitted its amendments, the final technical recommendations from the ESD remain outstanding.

Two engineers were scheduled to visit Rodrigues in February for a site inspection to finalize the dossier, a step required before the CPB can proceed with the purchase.

Technical Oversight and Accountability

Addressing calls for a permanent biomedical engineer to be stationed in Rodrigues, Minister Bachoo stated that such resources are based in Mauritius and are deployed on an as-needed basis.

He further noted that certain technical responsibilities fall under the jurisdiction of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.

The Minister also committed to investigating whether a detailed assessment report exists regarding the specific causes of the scanner’s long-term failure.

For the people of Rodrigues, the wait for essential diagnostic services continues, with the outage now entering its third year.

Source: l’Express