Mumbai: BMC moots solution for drug shortage at civic hospitals

To resolve the issue of medicine shortage at civic-run hospitals, the BMC has decided to authorise ward officers for procuring medicines. However, the plan is yet to materialise as brainstorming sessions on the same are underway. The civic body resorted to the move following repeated complaints from patients that hospitals don't even have basic medicines and they have to bear the brunt.

Senior officials said they will be holding meetings with the central purchase department (CPD) and hospital authorities to discuss the plan. Currently, hospital deans have the authority to procure medicines up to Rs10 lakh in an emergency.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said they are looking for alternate options for resolving drug shortage at hospitals. Every year they receive complaints that hospitals are facing a huge drug shortage and patients are forced to procure medicines from private chemists at higher rates.

“The hospital deans have power to procure medicines locally by using a certain amount allotted to them but that also is not sufficient at times. We are now deciding to give additional power to ward officers for procurement of scheduled drugs required in their respective ward. We will hold meetings with all the ward officers, CPD and hospital deans to execute a plan to resolve the problem forever,” he said.

A senior official said a meeting for procurement of medicines will be organised and rates will be decided. “Always there is a complaint of medicine shortages and stopgap measures are taken but that can't be done every time. So, taking another (concrete) step is necessary to ease medicine procurement, which gets stuck in tendering and the whole process gets delayed. At ward level, it will be easier to procure drugs but hospitals need to inform the ward officers about the shortage 2-3 months before and not at the eleventh hour,” he said.

Recently, the Directorate of Medical Education & Research assumed power to procure medicines for the state-run hospitals which have a chronic history of drug shortage.