India, Oct. 9 -- For more than two weeks now, MRI and CT scan services at Lok Nayak Hospital (LNH), one of Delhi's largest government-run medical institutions, have been suspended - forcing hundreds of poor and ill patients to turn to private centres charging thousands of rupees, or wait years.

A ground check by HT found that patients arriving at the hospital for new MRIs are being handed dates for as late as 2028, while others waiting for CT scans and ultrasounds face similar delays. To be sure, officials said MRIs are still being offered at the hospital for in-patients and emergency/trauma cases.

According to a letter dated September 30 from the hospital's department of radiodiagnosis to the medical director, titled "Critical issue in...