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| January 7, 2002 | Monday | Shawwal 22, 1422 |
EDOs given deadline to buy medicines
MULTAN, Jan 6: All executive district officers (health) in the province have been given March 1, 2002, deadline to complete procurement of medicines in their respective districts or ‘face consequences’.
The warning was given by provincial health secretary to the 34 EDOs (health) during a meeting in Lahore on Saturday.
The meeting was convened to discuss the non-availability of essential items in the state-run health facilities.
Health institutions in the Punjab have been facing acute shortage of emergency medicines, consumables and other items because no ‘meaningful’ purchases can be made after the introduction of devolution plan.
The shortage of essential items has also made the pathology laboratories and radiology departments inoperative in most of the institutions in the province.
Sources who attended the meeting told Dawn that the secretary warned the (EDOs) to meet the deadline otherwise “heads will roll.”
Earlier, the EDOs explained to the secretary that none of the pre-qualified pharmaceutical firms had directly participated in the bidding process, a prerequisite to procure medicines.
They further said that they were empowered to procure medicines worth Rs0.6 million. National and multinational pharmaceutical firms did not take interest in the bidding for procurements worth more than their (EDOs) financial powers. Some micro firms took part in the tenders. Tenders had to be cancelled as there were many items which these firms were unable to supply.
Some participants in the meeting said the composition of the district procurement committees was a hindrance to the swift procurement process because six other EDOs had also been made members of the committees apart form DCO of the respective district.
Rejecting all the EDOs arguments, the secretary insisted on the deadline.
Medical superintendents of several hospital of the province also attended the meeting.
The secretary had, at a meeting held last month to resolve the crisis, outrightly opposed a suggestion to allow the EDOs to procure medicines at the rates he (the secretary) had formulated in the beginning of the ongoing fiscal year before the introduction of local governments. The meeting was presided over by Punjab Minister for Health Prof Mahmood Ahmad Chaudhry.
The annual procurement of emergency medicines, consumables and other goods for district and tehsil headquarter hospitals, rural health centres and basic health units stood at Rs700 million to Rs800 million.
Under the devolution plan, district governments have been given the task of medicines procurement but without envisaging a clear procedure.
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