Govt hospitals' drug suppliers haven't been paid for six months

Despite the Delhi government's persistent efforts, its hospitals in the national Capital have failed to bridge the gap between demand and supply of medicines. According to sources, most hospitals are still facing an acute shortage of several life-saving medicines.

It has now come to light that the problem might be the fact that medicine suppliers have not been paid for a long time. The Delhi Hospital Supplier's Association (DHSA), an umbrella body that supplies medicines to government hospitals in the Capital, had recently written a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, complaining about their payments being pending. The CM then pulled up the Chief Secretary and directed him to submit a report in this regard.

According to sources, 35-40 suppliers in the Capital have not been paid for the last six months, and the total amount is nearly Rs 50 crore.

"Now we are facing problems in supplying medicines for want of funds, which is affecting the availability of drugs and consumables in hospitals across the city. If the situation does not change soon, we will have no option but to stop the supply," the letter sent to the CM read.

"The overall process of procurement of medicines is getting delayed by the day. We are regularly putting forth our demand for drugs but nothing has happened. Many surgeries are being put on hold due to the shortage of basic drugs," a senior doctor said.

Meanwhile, sources in the Health Department said last year in November and December, there was a delay in the tendering process, which delayed the entire procurement process.

In fact, on Tuesday, the DHSA members had a meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss the issue. "We are still waiting for a decision," association member AC Nagar said.

Earlier, a report submitted to Kejriwal had stated that in some hospitals, less than 50 per cent of the required medicines are available. According to the report, there was 33 per cent availability in Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Hospital in Patel Nagar, 34 per cent in Guru Teg Bhadur (GTB) Hospital, 36 per cent in Ch Braham Prakash Ayurvedic Charak Sansthan in Khera Dabur, 44 per cent in Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini, and 46 per cent in the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

Taking a note of the report, Kejriwal had directed the Chief Secretary to take all necessary steps to ensure 100 per cent availability of medicines and consumables in all Delhi government hospitals and to ensure proper functioning of all necessary equipment.

...& ANALYSIS

• Delhi Chief Minister has pulled up officials whenever drugs are in short supply at the government hospitals.
   
• But he needs take a step to ensure that drug suppliers get their dues on time as government  hospitals have drawn flak for not providing medical facilities.