BMC-run hospitals in dire straits due to neglectful admin: Mumbai Congress

They said the tendering process for supply of basic amenities in hospitals, such as medical supplies, life-saving medicines, milk and food supplies, has been pending for the last year due to the administration’s laxity.

The former corporators also said lakhs of people are affected by the deterioration of the city’s health infrastructure, for which the BMC is responsible.

“From last year, no drug has been scheduled through the central procurement authority. To keep the hospital functional, the dean and medical officers end up buying essential medicines for patients at higher rates from the open market everyday. Moreover, every hospital is purchasing milk and food supplies at different rates and under different conditions,” they said.

Also, the lack of medical equipment in hospitals, they said, is a hindrance to proper medical treatment to patients.

“In 2018, the municipality undertook renovation of MT Agarwal Hospital, Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, and Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali. Even after five years, these hospitals are not renovated. This year, the administrators approved the purchase of life-saving endoscopic ultrasound medical equipment for KEM Hospital in Parel. However, the tender holder who gave the proposal decided to cancel the tender. The same goes for supply of life-saving injections. BMC is neglecting many such problems concerning citizens,” they said.

The former corporators have demanded strict action against officials who are cancelling contracts even after approval of BMC administrator, and have sought the sacking of officials who do not finalise tenders.

Notably, BMC had floated a tender for supply of medicines to municipal hospitals. However, only one or two suppliers responded to this tender. Most companies turned their backs on this tender process as BMC has still to clear 20 per cent of dues owed to the vendors. The corporators have also asked why the corporation is not paying companies despite having funds running into thousands of crores of rupees.

Ashraf Azmi, a former Congress corporator, alleged in a letter to the BMC commissioner that patients are compelled to purchase most scheduled medicines from open markets due to prolonged delays in finalising tenders.

“Over the past year, the Central Procurement Authority has failed to finalise almost any medicine schedules.

Tenders for crucial life-saving medications, granted SCR approval by Municipal Administrator in May 2023, remain without vendor contracts due to unpaid bribes. Basic essentials such as syringes, needles, blood bags, gloves, x-ray films, sutures, tablets, and capsules are consistently unavailable in the majority of hospitals,” reads the letter.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Azmi said that it ultimately burdened the public exchequer.

The corporators also raised concerns about the feasibility of BMC’s ‘prescription-free’ initiative, pointing out the irony of promoting such a concept when hospitals struggle to procure necessary medications.

“At the medical store in KEM hospital, one can see long queues of patients seeking essential medicines, underscoring the urgency of addressing this critical issue,” he said.

In addition to the letter, they have provided a comprehensive list of 12 items categorized under various scheduled drugs, revealing instances of incomplete or expired tendering. The items encompass a diverse range, including sera vaccines, injections, Schedule-II tablets, x-ray films, surgical dressing materials, laboratory glassware, and Schedule-V drugs, among others.

The Indian Express has contacted BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal with the written letter for his comment. So far, it hasn’t yielded any response.