Costly equipment gathering dust in govt hospitals for want of space
andhrapradesh | Written by : Suryaa Desk
VIJAYAWADA : Medical equipment costing Rs 16.43 crore procured by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) were lying idle due to lack of space and infrastructure constraints, thereby depriving the patients of the healthcare Institutions of the intended benefits, CAG report observed.
Availability of space and infrastructure is prerequisite before acquiring equipment by the healthcare institutions where additional space is required to accommodate the equipment, construction of infrastructure should be in tandem with the procurement of equipment, so that the equipment procured does not remain idle for want of space for installation.
CAG report says that during 2015-16, equipment worth Rs 16.43 crore was procured for utilisation in 31 healthcare institutions and they were lying idle, when the auditing was done in December 2016, for want of space. The equipment include high value equipment like Ultrasound Colour Doppler, X-ray machine, etc.
If we look at the hospital-wise situation as per the CAG report which included photographs to illustrate the problem, district hospital in Tenali of Guntur district, Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) in Visakhapatnam, Area Hospital at Anakapalli in Visakhapatnam district, King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, Community Health Centre (CHC) at Kotauratla in Visakhapatnam district, Government General Hospital in Vijayawada, Government General Hospital in Kakinada district feature prominently among the hospitals, the valuable medical equipment is lying idle.
(Subhead) All they want is a sliver of space
During 2015-16, APMSIDC had procured 77 equipment worth Rs 3.10 crore for Mother and Child Care Centre at the district hospital in Tenali of Guntur district. However, due to non-completion of electrical and other works, the building constructed for the centre at a cost of Rs 6.02 crore could not be put to use. As a result, the equipment procured was dumped in various rooms of the hospital. The hospital superintendent had told CAG that the building itself was not handed over to them yet.
In case of VIMS, medical equipment including Light Double Dome, Ventilator, Defibrillator among others were procured at a cost of Rs 8.11 crore. Here too, the building required for the installation of those medical equipment was not completed.
Building for MCH centre at Anakapalle Area Hospital was completed in July 2015 at the cost of Rs 7.83 crore and an equipment worth Rs 2.28 crore was procured from the 13th Finance Commission grants for utilisation in the Centre. However, the equipment procured is yet to be installed, as authorities were still waiting for the building to get inaugurated.