No shortage of drugs in hospitals as Maharashtra government to clear dues worth Rs 90 crore

Patients lodged in state-run hospitals need not worry about the shortage of drugs and medical items required anymore. The drugs and medical implant suppliers of Maharashtra have decided to not stop the supply after getting assurance of payment from the state government.

The state government has confirmed in a letter to pay the pending bills of approximately Rs 90 crore. Earlier, the association had decided to not supply any medical items to 17 government medical colleges in the state from Monday due to pending bills.

The state government had not paid its dues since March 2015. The members of the All Food and Drugs License Holders Foundation (AFDLHF) had decided to stop supply to medical colleges and hospitals, including the JJ Group of Hospitals in Mumbai.

The association stated that the government has given a letter confirming the release of Rs 90 crore immediately; as a first step, Rs 8.5 crore pending from JJ Hospital has already been cleared.

Abhay Pandey, president, AFDLHF, said, "The government has proceeded Rs 8.5 crore already. While they agreed to listen to our demand, we too agreed to supply the medical items without any delay."

There are over 100 suppliers and small-scale manufacturers who provide drugs and surgical items to the government medical colleges and hospitals. Out of them, around 87 suppliers' dues were yet to be cleared by the government.

Pandey added, "We did not want to cause any inconvenience to the patients; so we agreed to not stop the supply after the government proceeded our payment. The remaining money will be released from the state after scrutinising the bills and will be paid by the end of this month."