The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Scarcity of medicines, consumables hits key Delhi govt hospitals; patients in the lurch
HIS 82-YEAR-OLD father admitted in the orthopaedic department of the Lok Nayak Hospital following a fracture in the leg aftersuffering a fall in the bathroom, east Delhi resident Sunil is busy arranging for a rod needed to fix the broken limb. Insisting that he is only doing what the doctors asked him to, he said, “We have not been given anything by the hospital. This will cost me around Rs 20,000.”
Sunil's is not the only case. With a number of key Delhi government hospitals facing shortage of medicines, several patients have to buy medicines and consumable items used in patient care on their own, according to doctors and nursing officials.
The shortage is also at the centre of a recent war of words betweendelhi lieutenant governor V KS axe na and state health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj. While the L-G has asked the health minister for a meeting, Bharadwaj, in turn, invited him to visit a few Delhi government hospitals, stating that a majority of patients come from Bjp-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The back and forth was triggeredafter it was reported that an 8- year-old boy with a broken arm was allegedly turned away on April 1 by Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, stating that they did not have cotton and neither was any orthopaedic doctor available to treat him.
Bharadwaj, in a letter, said on Friday that he had a meeting with the medical directors and medical Superintendents of the hospitals who told him that there is a scar city even as the chief secretary and health secretary denied any such shortage. The Indian Express reached out to several Delhi governmenthospitals and spoke with doctors, nursing officers and other officials on issues that are arising in patient care.
'Mortuary bag not available for months'
According to a senior official at Lok Nayak hospital, the largest Delhi government hospital, there is a shortage of several medicines and consumable items which have been unavailable for several months now. Despite requests, only half of the items have been provided, they added.
Consumable items like mortuary bags and mortuary sheets have not been available for the last 3-4 months, according to a letter by a senior nursing officer to the casualty medical officer.
“On April 4, we gave a list of unavailable medicines and consumables such as bandage rolls and nebulizer masks, which we are falling short of but have not received the items yet ,” the official said. A senior doctor at Lok Nayak hospital, on the condition of anonymity, said that items which are used extensively such as cotton bandages often fall short with only half the requisite amount provided.
Medical Director of Lok Nayak Hospital, Dr Sure sh Kumar, remainedunavailable to respond to the matter.
'Drugs scam' effect
Another official stated that the problem in procuring medicines has been persisting since the alleged medicines ca min which the L-G had also initiated an inquiry. In December, Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the procurement and supply of allegedly spurious and “non-standard” drugs—including some life-saving medicines— at Delhi governmentthe aap’s flag ship mo hall a clinics in the capital.
At GB Pant hospital, the shortage has been reported for along time now and often, basic paracetamol remain unavailable, according to Liladhar Ramchandani, a nursing officer at the hospital and secretary general of Delhi Nurses' Federation.
A doctor from Ambedkar Hospital said that there is a essential medicines such as antibiotics, which are procured from the Central Procurement Agency, adding the matter is is ed unnecessarily” instead of finding are solution.
The agency, formed by the Delhi government, supplies medicine sand consumables to hospitals. “We have been asked to keep the substitutes of these medicines,” he said.
Insisting that they have “everything in place”, a senior doctor from Burari Hospital said the hospital inventory is so huge that things sometimes fall short due to poor coordination. “Often supply orders fail, the tender contract ends... It's a dynamic thing. It keeps happening ,” he said, adding that there have been issues for the past few months but “we are working on it”.
On saturday, medical directors and medical superintendents of various hospitals held a discussion with the chief secretary to identify the problems. “A generic discussion on how the problems can be resolved took place,” said a medical superintendent of a hospital who attended the meeting.
Health Secretary SB Deepak remained unavailable for a comment on the matter.
Bharadwaj’s office said he had given multiple written directions to the Health Secretary and Chief Secretary to solve these issues at the highest pri or ity. “i have repeatedly asked them to share their plan of action along with timelines,” said Bharadwaj. “However, instead of solving the issue, the Chief Secretary and Health Secretary are misleading thesubmitting that there is no scarcity of medicines and consumables. This is when they have, on their own, admitted in a communication that there is scarcity of medicines and consumables at the hospitals,” he added.