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| Pvt firm allegedly violates Bio Medical Equipment Maintenance prog norms | | Fails to repair ultrasonography machine in two months! | | SAAHIL SUHAIL
EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Oct 4: A private firm, which bagged Bio Medical Equipment Maintenance contract, is allegedly violating the norms of the programme with impunity in Jammu and Kashmir and thus is leaving no stone unturned to fail the Healthy Ministry’s much hyped programme.
This can be gauged from the fact that the firm has failed to repair an ultrasonography machine in the last two months at District Hospital Bandipora.
“Our USG machine has been out of order for the last two months. The Mediciti firm that has been allotted the contract of maintenance of Bio Medical equipment visited the hospital thrice but couldn’t repair the machine. They are telling us to ferry a few parts of the machine from outside,” Medical Superintendent District Hospital Bandipora Dr Bashir Ahmad told Early Times.
He said that the firm didn’t even provide them a machine as they were supposed to do.
“As per the contract firm had to provide an ultrasonography machine till they repair it but they didn’t provide us any kind of relief,” he added. Locals in Bandipora are up in arms against the Health Department for failing to get the machine repaired.
“From last two people and especially poor patients are suffering and they are being compelled to visit private clinics.
The loot is on and health department officials are tightlipped over the issue,” a local resident said, however he expressed ignorance about Healthy Ministry’s Bio Medical Equipment Maintenance programme under which a firm, who is allotted the contract of maintaining Bio Medical Equipments in hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir has to provide a machine or equipment to the hospital till they repair it.
Bio Medical Equipments Maintenance Programme is an initiative by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to provide support to state governments to outsource medical equipment maintenance comprehensively for all facilities so as to improve the functionality and life of equipments, simultaneously improving healthcare services in public health facilities- reducing cost of care and improving the quality of care. Under the programme, a firm which bagged the contract has to provide services round the clock for up keeping of medical devices in hospitals.
“They are bound to provide a machine to the hospital till they repair the damaged machine but here in Kashmir they violate these norms with impunity,” an officer, who is in knowhow of the programme told Early Times over phone.
He said that the firm was also supposed to establish a control room for [24 X 7 Toll free number] for reporting breakdown and other issues but it has failed to open.
He also revealed that the firm has engaged fewer Bio Medical engineers and which is also one of the reasons that it fails to deliver up to the expectation.
“Most unfortunate part is that there is no one to monitor their work in hospitals.
In absence of Bio Medical engineers they can claim anything and get bills certified from Medical Superintends of hospitals and block medical officers who know very little about the machines,” he added.
Repeated attempts to contact representatives of the firm who looks after its operations in Jammu and Kashmir failed
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