The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Shortage of drugs in hospitals

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Monday, Mar 03, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Shortage of drugs in hospitals

Shyama Rajagopal

New system for drug purchase to be in place from April

CPC has failed to ensure drug supply
Shortage hits services at medical colleges

KOCHI: Acute shortage of drugs in hospitals over the last six months has put the Health Services in the State in a quandary.

With the government shifting from the system of Central Purchase Committee (CPC) for drug purchase to the Kerala Medical Service Corporation Ltd., the interim period has been rather difficult for poor patients who reach government hospitals for treatment.

Till now, the CPC has supplied only drugs valued at Rs.12 crore out of the Rs.35 crore for the year to medical colleges.

Annual requirement

The rest of the funds will be re-appropriated to buy equipment for the medical colleges. Every year, the Health Services requires about Rs.130 crore worth drugs, which include medicines, sutures, etc.

The Medical Service Corporation’s mandate will be effective from April this year and the CPC will provide medicines for the medical colleges and the Health Services till that period. However, the CPC has failed to deliver enough medicines.

The shortage has affected almost all hospitals across the State and medical colleges. The local purchases allowed for each hospital (Rs.5,000 a day for a district hospital and Rs.10,000 a day for a medical college) are inadequate to meet the needs.

For example, the District General Hospital in Ernakulam needs more than Rs.3 lakh a month to meet the needs of in-patients. Most of the local purchases are done for high-level antibiotics and cancer drugs and this meets the requirement of about only 25 to 30 per cent of the patients.

P.V. Ramachandran, chairman of CPC, says it is the failure of the system of procuring drugs through the CPC that has led to the formation of the Corporation.

He said the CPC was bound by rules to buy medicines as per the lowest quotation, but when the company fails to supply medicines, there is no system to go in for the next bidder.

The company that fails to deliver the drugs is supposed to deliver the next tranche with a fine for the delay.

However, the government cannot accept the drugs if the company fails to submit the fine. Hence the government loses out on both drugs and fine. The new system that will function from April is in line with what is being practised in Tamil Nadu for the last 10 years.

Tenders called

Dinesh Arora, Deputy Director, Health, who is also the chairman of the new Corporation, said there will be a system to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines. It has already called for tenders. As of now, the Health Department is not aware of drug shortages in hospitals, Dr. Arora said.

The CPC is expected to deliver drugs till the first two weeks of April to cushion the initial period of the Corporation’s functioning, he added.

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