HYDERABAD, Jan 24: Contrary to a statement made by the provincial health adviser claiming adequate supply of medicines to the Civil Hospital Hyderabad by the import and inspection depot , the hospital has not received its medicines' quota of the first six months of fiscal year 2004-5, according to information gathered by this correspondent.

As a result, the hospital is facing a shortage of medicines and has accumulated dues of different medicine suppliers after its management opted to utilize 25 per cent cash allocation of its budget.

Talking to journalists here last week, the adviser, Faisal Malik, contested a journalist's claim of non-provision of medicines to the CHH according to the quota of the first six months of the fiscal year.

Disputing the adviser's statement, informed sources said that on account of non-availability of medicines, the hospital is facing a serious shortage of drugs. According to them, the hospital gets 75 per cent of medicines directly from the II depot whereas remaining 25 per cent cash allocations are utilized for local purchase of medicines.

The CHH gets this budget in two instalments. The provision of medicines in two instalments for first and second half of a year, out of 75 per cent budget, is to begin with commencement of a fiscal year.

Given lethargy of the II depot, it is always delayed as the depot does not invite tenders for purchase of drugs on time. The depot is supposed to invite tenders before beginning of a fiscal year to ensure on-time delivery of medicines.

However, it always takes provision of drugs very lightly as tender process is not completed according to schedule. The medicines are meant for use in out patient and casualty departments, operation theatres and in-door patients.

Out of a budget of over Rs66 million, drugs worth over Rs49 million are to be supplied by the II depot in two instalments. So far medicines worth Rs10 million, which are close to 20 per cent of the 75 per cent, have been received though second half of the year has begun.

Consequently, the CHH had to purchase drugs out of 25 per cent cash allocation, which is around Rs16.5 million. Half of Rs16.5 million was utilized between July and December 2004 whereas around seven percent of remaining allocations have been utilized on account of huge turnout of gastroenteritis patients last summer when the city was hit by a crisis of contaminated water.

For a considerable time last year, the hospital did not even get drips for patients. They were provided only when first stock of medicines of Rs9.8 million was received.

"The hospital has not been getting any kind of antibiotics from the II depot and in a few serious cases, doctors purchased them form their own pocket", a doctor claimed.

Official sources said that since a huge amount of money was involved in provision of medicines to government-run hospitals in Sindh, the procurement section of the health department always awarded contracts of medicine supply to their favourite contractors.

That was why the purchase was always delayed, they said and recalled the experience of year 2003 when similar situation prevailed in the hospital. The CHH proposed to the health department to allow purchase of 50 per cent medicines by it and supply of remaining 50 medicines by the II depot to avoid shortage of medicines in the hospital.

But the health department did not forward the proposal to the finance department, saying that the rules could be modified only by the Sindh chief secretary.

Sources claimed that the Civil Hospital Karachi had been permitted by the finance department on the intervention of the then health adviser to get half of medicines from the II depot and the remaining through local purchase.

The source added that it was discrimination by the health department given the fact that medicine-related problems were almost identical in Hyderabad and Karachi.