Vijayawada: Medical equipment procured at a cost of Rs 16.43 crores by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) are lying idle due to lack of space and infrastructure constraints.The CAG report on the general and social sector has stated that this has been depriving patients of healthcare institutions of their intended benefits. Despite CAG’s suggestions, the health ministry hasn’t taken any steps to correct the process. The medical equipment is an essential component of the public health service.
The procurement of medical equipment should be on a sound need-based assessment keeping in view the availability of manpower along with suitable infrastructure facilities and other resources. The procurement and distribution of medical equipment to the healthcare institutions under the control of the health, medical and family welfare department in the state is entrusted to the APMSIDC. The corporation procures equipment based on the indents and the funds received from the Heads of Departments (HoDs) as per the requirement of hospitals.
Records of the corporation were scrutinized during June-September 2016 to assess whether their equipment introduced by the corporation was installed, adequately manned and effectively put to use.The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has observed a few points about the non-installation of equipment, availability of space and infrastructure.
In fact, the space and infrastructure are two primary prerequisites before acquiring equipment by the hospitals. Where additional space is required to accommodate the equipment, construction of infrastructure should be in tandem with the acquisition of equipment, so that the equipment taken does not remain idle for want of space for installation.
The scrutiny of the data provided by the corporation showed that the equipment worth Rs 16.43 crores, introduced during the period 2015-16 for utilisation in 31 hospitals were lying uninstalled (December 2016) for the want of space for installation.The equipment included high-value equipment like Ultrasound Colour Doppler, X-ray machine, etc. During 2015-16, the corporation acquired 77 items of equipment, of which were 58 were worth Rs 3.10 crores, for mother and child healthcare (MCH) centre in the district hospital in Tenali.
However, due to non-completion of electrical and other works, the building which was constructed for the centre at a cost of Rs 6.02 crores could not be put to use. As a result, the equipment procured for the MCH Centre was dumped in various rooms of the hospital.The superintendent replied saying that the building was not handed over to them, the equipment was not installed and put to use, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
All equipment bought early
APMSIDC has procured equipment like OT Light Double Dome, ventilator, defibrillator, etc. at the cost of Rs 8.11 crores, for the Visakhpatnam Institute of Med-ical Sciences (VIMS). It was seen in the audit that the buildings required for the installation of the equipment were not yet completed. The corporation also confirmed that the equipment was not installed due to non-completion of the construction of the buildings.
The construction of the building for the MCH centre in the Area Hospital, Anakapalli taken up in August 2012 was completed in July 2015 at a cost of Rs 7.83 crores.The equipment worth Rs 2.28 crores was procured by the corporation from the 13th Finance Commission grants for utilisation in the centre.
It was seen that this equipment was not installed in the Centre as of December 2016. The authorities at Visakhpatnam Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) replied that the equipment would be installed and utilised after inauguration of the building. Thus, due to non-inauguration of the building even after 18 months from its completion, the equipment remained idle.
The building completed at cost of Rs 7.83 crores was also lying unutili-sed. The corporation procured six numbers of haemodialysis units for the nephrology department in the hospital at a cost of Rs 45.67 lakhs, for King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam. However, the audit report observed that the equipment was not put to use, due to the non-availability of funds for construction of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant required for functioning of the equipment.
