Jamshedpur, Dec. 22 -- After pathology services provided through a private agency under the PPP model were halted in 20 districts, CT Scan, echocardiography, and X-ray services may soon be suspended at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) and other government hospitals, officials said on Sunday. The development came to light following a letter issued by the Jharkhand Medical and Health Infrastructure Development and Procurement Corporation Ltd (JMHIDPCL), according to which the contract period of the private agency Health Map expired on November 15, and the two-month extension period will also end on December 31, 2025. "Afterwards, radiology services at all places being provided under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model will generally be considered as expired," the letter stated. Health Map has been providing CT Scan, X-ray, and ultrasonography services, among others, in many government hospitals across the state, including MGMMCH in Jamshedpur. MGMMCH, though it has X-ray and ultrasonography facilities of its own, does not have CT scan facilities. Similarly, Jamshedpur Sadar Hospital (JSH) has its own X-ray facility, but ultrasonography service is provided by Health Map. Poor and middle-class patients currently get CT scans through this agency at a cost of Rs.1,035 to Rs.5,175, whereas CT scans at private centres typically range from Rs.2,200 to Rs.8,000. "The contract agreement of the Health Map company is about to expire. A letter has been sent to the state health department in this regard, and guidelines have been sought. Our priority is to ensure that patients don't face any problems. Work on installing CT Scan and MRI machines is ongoing, with the construction of the platforms in the identified rooms. The purchase process is ongoing by the JMHIDPCL, and as soon as the machines reach here, we will install them," Dr RK Mandhan, MGMMCH superintendent, told HT on Sunday. It may be noted that pathology services at MGMMCH are already affected after the contract with the Medall Company ended. The hospital is in the final phase of starting its centralised pathology laboratory....