Health Minister Seeks End-to-End Tracking of Medical Equipment

Hyderabad:Health minister Damodar Rajanarsimha has directed Telangana Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TGMSIDC) officials to strengthen procurement systems to ensure timely and transparent supply of quality medical equipment to government hospitals.

At a review meeting held on Friday at the TGMSIDC office in Koti, the minister assessed medical equipment procurement, tender processes, operational status and maintenance, and requirements for new hospitals.

He said all equipment supplied to government hospitals must meet quality standards and be delivered within timelines, and asked officials to prepare proposals for a policy prioritising transparency. He also directed that procurement follow standardised procedures.

The minister called for complete digitisation of the procurement process and proposed an end-to-end digital system to track each stage, from indent to installation, to improve transparency, accountability and efficiency. He instructed officials to establish a monitoring system to ensure continuous functionality of equipment and suggested a centralised dashboard to track performance across hospitals, to be reviewed by senior management every fortnight with corrective action taken where required.

He also directed a review of existing Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract (CAMC) agreements and called for stricter penalties for vendors failing to meet service-level agreements, stressing accountability in maintenance.

The minister ordered the appointment of eight biomedical engineers to monitor equipment performance in the field, including four for Hyderabad and one each for the East, West, South and North zones. TGMSIDC managing director Gaurav Uppal, director of medical education Narendra Kumar and director of public health Ravindra Naik, along with senior officials, attended the meeting.