Mumbai: To streamline the drug procurement process for civic-run hospitals and to break the contractor monopoly, additional municipal commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde called for an urgent meeting with the central purchase department on Saturday to ascertain the reasons that ultimately led to a shortage of medicines.
Dr Shinde said he cancelled the weekly off of all officers to understand the background of stakeholders and contractors involved in providing medicines to hospitals. “I also wanted to know about the tendering process and why only one company came forward despite many being out there,” he said.
Medicines shortages is a recurring issue at BMC hospitals
The issue of shortage of medicines at BMC hospitals is not new and recurs every three to four months. In such situations, patients are asked to buy medicines from outside; even stocks of gloves, saline and medical dressings run out.
BMC needs to act promptly
A senior officer on condition of anonymity said that there are several factors, including contractor monopoly and a nexus with doctors and BMC officials. He said that the shortage will continue unless the BMC acts urgently. “The medicines patients are forced to buy are available at zero cost at the hospital pharmacy,” he said.
The All Food and Drug License Holder’s Foundation (AFDLHF), which represents over 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers and 1,000 distributors from across India, had alleged that in the last two to three years, the BMC’s Central Purchase Department has not floated tenders for bulk purchases, which leads to monumental shortages. They claimed that the BMC incurred a loss of almost ₹100 crore in the last two years.
