Suppliers stop deliveries over Rs 30 cr unpaid dues
*No cardiac procedures conducted
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 8: Cardiac services at Government Super Speciality Hospital (SSH), Jammu came to a standstill today after authorized suppliers of emergency cardiac devices—including stents, pacemakers, balloons and Cath Lab consumables—suspended all deliveries owing to unpaid dues amounting to nearly Rs 30 crore under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
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The drastic halt, which health officials described as “unprecedented and alarming,” paralyzed the Hospital’s Cath Lab operations from this morning. The SSH performs around 25 cardiac procedures daily, but not a single heart-related intervention could be carried out today, doctors confirmed.
According to suppliers, payments pending with Amrit Pharmacy, operated by Hindustan Lifecare Limited (HLL), and the State Health Agency (SHA) have accumulated steadily over the past year. Despite repeated reminders and formal notices, the dues remained uncleared, forcing distributors to stop supplies after parent companies refused to dispatch fresh consignments without overdue settlements.
A senior doctor at SSH, requesting anonymity, said the shortage left both emergency and routine cardiac patients in distress. “The Cath Lab depends entirely on timely availability of these high-value devices. Once supply stopped, we had no option but to postpone all procedures. This has placed vulnerable cardiac patients at serious risk,” he said.
Vendors say the crisis did not erupt overnight. One major supplier told Excelsior that the payment mechanism itself is faltering, despite PM-JAY being designed to ensure seamless reimbursement. He said an agreement requires Amrit Pharmacy to clear payments within 30 days, but vendors have been “struggling for over a year” to receive their pending dues.
“We have shown full cooperation. For three months, we repeatedly requested the authorities to release payments. When nothing moved, we issued a notice last week and stopped the supply today,” the supplier said. He added that delays in payment processing through Amrit Pharmacy—despite funds reportedly being allocated to SHA—have strained not just finances but also operational capacity. “We cannot procure fresh stocks from parent companies when dues of such magnitude remain unsettled.”
Suppliers said they have already submitted joint representations to the concerned authorities, urging immediate intervention for clearance of dues. They say follow-ups for the past year have yielded “only assurances, not payments.”
When contacted, Principal and Dean, Government Medical College Jammu, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, acknowledged the crisis but assured that the administration is acting swiftly. “We have contacted alternate vendors and expect supply of cardiac devices and consumables to be restored within two to three days,” he said.
However, hospital insiders caution that even a temporary suspension can have serious consequences for high-risk cardiac patients dependent on timely interventions. With the patient load rising and SSH serving as J&K’s premier cardiac facility under PM-JAY, any gap in supplies threatens to trigger a larger healthcare emergency unless funds are released without delay.
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