In a bid to streamline procurement of medicines and to ensure proper distribution of the same, the Arvind Kejriwal Government has decided to set up a Central Procurement Committee (CPC) to procure drugs and other essentials for hospitals. The Government has also decided to withdraw powers of medical superintendents who have been authorised to procure medicines for their respective hospitals.
According to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain, the State Government is planning setting up a CPC to streamline the procurement of medicines for all Government-run hospitals. The centralised system is not only going to bring in transparency in the purchase system, it will also plug leaks at different levels. The Health Minister has directed officials to bring a proposal in this regard. There are 40 Government-run hospitals in Delhi. Currently, each hospital purchases its own medicines and other items.
Insiders say that despite an e-procurement policy, patients have been complaining about non-availability of medicines and other essentials in hospitals.
A senior official said that some senior doctors had been complaining that they were frequently being approached by the representatives of various pharma companies to get their medicines approved for their respective hospitals. The doctors had conveyed to the administration that the job of purchasing medicines and other items should be done independently by a separate body.
There is a view in the administration that once the procurement process of the medicines was centralised, it would substantially pull down the price of all such items. Also, the centralised system would help the administration to keep a check on the supply and demand of essential medicines in city hospitals.
The Health Department’s decision regarding formation of the CPC is based on inputs received from various hospitals where senior doctors demanded setting up of a centralised system for purchase of medicines and other items so that the same are distributed as per the requirements of different health bodies.