VISAKHAPATNAM: Oxygen cylinder supply and daily diet for patients at the north coastal Andhra Pradesh’s biggest government hospital, King George Hospital (KGH), continue to be at the mercy of the assigned contractors. Even though the hospital authorities claim that there is enough budget now, the release of bills due for some services is not being done regularly.
The contractor, however, has have been providing services like oxygen supply despite non-clearance of bills for six months. The hospital has a bed capacity of 1,075, and 500 beds are to be added to meet the demand with vertical expansion of the hospital. A large number of people are dependent on the hospital that is not only patronised by the local people, but also from neighbouring states like Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
With eight emergency medical care units, the hospital incurs an expense between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh every month on an average. When asked about the fund crunch, KGH Superintendent G. Arjuna said the government was issuing enough funds for the hospital and new facilities like ventilators, high-end x-ray machine were being introduced.
However, he admitted that bills against oxygen cylinders and diet were pending. “We have to clear the six months’ bill of the oxygen cylinder supply amounting to Rs 23 lakh. The contractor making diet arrangements is also to be paid. The contractors have never troubled us in any way. There are some procedures to be followed to clear the bills and soon those will be cleared,” the hospital superintendent said. The government has given permission to do local purchase, in case of emergency. Aarogyasri Trust has also been very helpful to resolve issues related to funds, he said.
