Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 18: Shocking it may sound but it is a fact that majority of healthcare institutions of Jammu region have been reeling under shortage of medicines during the past several months and lakhs of patients are being compelled to make purchases from the open market despite availability of funds with the Health Department for procurement of medicines.
If the supplies remain deficient for more time the situation will become grave in the coming days and the worst sufferers would be the population of those areas which become snowbound in the months of November-December and even get cut-off from the district headquarters and State.
According to the information available with EXCELSIOR, generally, the process for procurement of medicines is set into motion by the Contract Committee headed by Director Health Services, Jammu in the months of October-November every year to ensure beginning of supplies of drugs to the health institutions from the month of May. However, this year the exercise got delayed because Government could not take timely decision about whether purchases had to be made through the previous system or through the newly constituted Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation.
The actual exercise on the earlier pattern was set into motion in the month of January this year when Contract Committee adopted e-tendering process for the first time and invited tenders from the pharmaceutical companies for making supplies of drugs.
The response to the e-tendering was very encouraging as 58 companies participated in the same and many were found successful on the basis of their three main conditions—Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certificate, Valid License for Manufacturing and Income Tax Clearance. However, the exercise could not be completed as some manufacturers, who failed to meet the conditions, acted as obstacle by resorting to legal course.
“Due to this, contracts for procurement of medicines for supply in the health institutions could not be finalized thus leading to shortage of drugs”, sources said. Nobody knows whether the Health Department would be able to make normal supplies to the health institutions even in the remaining months of the current financial year as situation vis-à-vis finalization of contracts continues to remain the same as it was several months back, sources added.
“The prevailing situation vis-à-vis availability of medicines can be gauged from the fact that Health Department could make only 60% supplies to the health institutions that too by making some internal arrangements”, they said, adding “majority of these supplies are meant only for emergency services thereby affecting normal facility to the ailing population”.
About the internal arrangements, they said that after the e-tendering exercise hit the road-block due to some manufacturers, the Directorate of Health Services got the contracts of last year extended from the Government so as to meet the requirement of medicines in emergency services. However, only some of the manufacturers/suppliers agreed to make supplies on previous rates.
“Out of Rs 13 crore budget for drugs procurement for the Directorate of Health Services, an amount of Rs 9 crore was spent while making purchases through internal arrangements and maximum share of Rs 9 crore was spent in meeting the emergencies in the aftermath of flash floods and cross-border shelling and firing”, sources said, adding “the drugs sent to Kashmir following flooding of Health Department’s stores in valley were also purchased out of this Rs 9 crore”.
When asked about the difficulty in utilizing remaining Rs 4 crore through this arrangement, sources said that successful manufacturers/suppliers of last year have categorically refused to supply drugs on the ground that it was not possible for them to provide medicines on previous rates, which the Directorate of Health Services cannot revise.
“In such a situation the Health Department has been left with no other option but to watch the situation with crossed fingers and ailing people are being compelled to make purchases from the market”, sources said, adding “the situation has become such an alarming that attendants of patients have even started manhandling workers of the Health Department for not providing them free medicines, which they are entitled to”.
Stating that even Rs 13 crore annual budget for procurement of medicines was not sufficient keeping in view manifold increase in number of patients visiting the institutions under the Health Department, sources said, “the situation is such a grim that the department is not able to spend even this insufficient money fully”.
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