- Industry
- 2 min read
In Himachal Pradesh, health department made ‘illogical’ purchase of drugs, machinery: CAG
“It led to instances of non-procurement, delay in procurement and non-availability of drugs; and non-issuing, short-issuing, excess issuing of drugs to health institutions... Drugs were purchased irregularly and without requirement resulting in their expiry. Ineffective quality control also resulted in distribution of substandard drugs to patients, the CAG report pointed out.
“It led to instances of non-procurement, delay in procurement and non-availability of drugs; and non-issuing, short-issuing, excess issuing of drugs to health institutions... Drugs were purchased irregularly and without requirement resulting in their expiry. Ineffective quality control also resulted in distribution of substandard drugs to patients, the CAG report pointed out.
Audit of procurement, supply and utilisation of drugs and consumables and machinery and equipment in health institutions under the control of director health services (DHS) for the period 2015-18 involved scrutiny of records of DHS, and chief medical officers (CMOs) of four districts (Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi) selected through stratified sampling using population and budget as criteria. During 2015-18, total expenditure in the state on drugs and consumables was Rs 146.75 crore and on machinery and equipment was Rs 67.87 crore.
The report said system of demand assessment and aggregation by various field units and CMOs was neither accurate nor time-bound; and system of issuing of drugs and consumables to field units by CMOs was not as per demand. It said non-finalisation of rate contracts for supply of essential drugs & consumables resulted in delay and non-procurement of items. There were large discrepancies in quantity of drugs issued and received by different field units, indicating either pilferage or poor stock management, it added.
CAG said system of quality control was practically nonexistent as drug samples were not being taken at the time of supply, and drugs were being issued without testing or waiting for test reports, resulting in distribution of substandard drugs. The system of demand assessment in respect of machinery and equipment was deficient resulting in non-procurement and non-availability of essential machinery and equipment. It said there was no reporting mechanism in respect of machinery and equipment in field units, resulting in a large number of items remaining idle or unutilised on account of purchase without requirement, being out-of-order, and shortage of technical manpower. The audit report suggested that the department may devise a reporting mechanism with respect to machinery and equipment.
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