The Medical Education Department has decided to start a centralised tendering process for purchase of medicines and equipments for associated hospitals of three Government medical colleges of the State. The department has made a proposal of the centralised process of tenders for three medical colleges and forwarded it to the state government for its implementation.
The Director Medical education, Dr Ashutosh Sayana told The Pioneer that the proposed measure would bring in uniformity in the process of tenders. “Due to separate process of tenders, the quantities of medicines are less due to which many companies prefer to keep out of the tender process. Now with the centralized tenders we hope to increase the participation of the companies. We have prepared a list of 172 medicines and 78 surgical items after talks with three medical colleges. These medicines and surgical items would now be purchased by the centralised tender process,’’ he said.
The new scheme would be applicable for Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Dehradun, Government Medical College (GMC) Haldwani and Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali Government institute of Medical science and research (VCSGGIMSR), Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal. The department would invite e- tenders of these medical colleges when the proposal receives green signal from the State Government.
It is worth mentioning here that the associated hospitals of these medical colleges are in a perpetual state of shortage of medicines and other equipment. In the associated hospital of the GDMC which also happens to be the biggest Government hospital of the State, the situation of availability of the medicines is pathetic.
Prior to being merged into a medical college this hospital was part of medical health department and used to receive its supply of medicines from the state health department. When as a separate entity it tried to purchase medicines, very few parties showed interest. The other hindrance for the hospital was the perpetual shortage of budget. It is learnt that the new drug purchase policy implemented last year was acting as an impediment.
The policy has provisions like minimum turnover of Rs 20 Crore for a state based firm and Rs 70 Crore for a national firm which intends to participate in process of tender for supplying medicines in state are cited as deterrents for drug supplier firms.
With the department planning to introduce a centralised system of tenders for medicine and surgical equipment purchase it is believed that the shortage of medicines in the associated hospitals of the medical colleges of the state would be solved.