Rs 6.48 Cr Cathlab at RIMS Runs Out of Warranty

Hyderabad:Five years after its installation, a Rs 6.48 crore worth cathlab which has not been used even to treat to single cardiac patient has run out of its warranty period in Telangana.

The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) in Adilabad is home to this one-of-a-kind heart-stopper with the cathlab installed in 2021 and where it has been lying unused for the past five years.

And with the five-year initial warranty period — which according to the terms of the tender began from the date of delivery of the equipment which happened in 2018 — that comes for a new cathlab now over, the hospital is now learnt to be chasing the company that supplied the equipment to restore the warranty as the machine has not been used so far and for all practical purposes, was still new.

According to sources, Rims receives at least one or two patients who require serious cardiac care intervention requiring the use of the cathlab every day, but since the machine cannot be used without warranty, such patients get redirected to private hospitals offering this service either in Adilabad or in Nirmal. Many of the patients who come here are poor and cannot afford the costs of a private hospital for angiograms or angiography as they rely on their Aarogyasri health benefits.

“For such patients, the only option is to make a potentially perilous journey, especially if they require urgent intervention, to a government hospital in Hyderabad which has this facility,” the sources said.

Incidentally, it was only earlier this year that the hospital woke up to the fact that its cathlab was out of warranty and using it without this cover, could result in huge costs in case of it requiring any repairs or upkeep. Though the hospital administration has written to the supplier seeking the extension of the warranty, the company is learnt to have responded back that it cannot agree to the same as the warranty terms as per tender norms constitute a binding legal agreement, and that it cannot deviate from the terms and conditions.

The company is further learnt to have made it clear to RIMS administration that that as per the delivery deadlines set by HITES - a Mini Ratna under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - the equipment was delivered on time. On the other hand, there were delays in installation as physical infrastructure such as the site and electrical work was not complete when the equipment was delivered in October 2018, which resulted in delays in its installation.

However, after the equipment was finally installed in 2021, RIMS could not accept the handover of the same as it did not have a full-time cardiologist until late last year as the equipment had to be checked by a doctor qualified to perform angiograms or angiography. But by then, the warranty on the cathlab had run out.

Apparently having woken up to the fact that the machine needs to be used at least now, the hospital is now faced with the prospect of shelling out, according to sources, Rs 26 lakh, for a fresh maintenance contract for the cathlab.

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