ISLAMABAD, May 17: The patients are being made to suffer from a dispute between the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and a US firm over the repairs of two machines.

A source in the hospital told Dawn that two “blood bank refrigerated centrifuge” machines used for separating blood platelets, each worth Rs2.5 million, were out of order for more than a month.

The machines are used for patients suffering from cancer and other serious ailments.

Installed few months ago, the one provided to the Children hospital has stopped working totally, while the other in the main hospital does not give accurate results, which is essential for the treatment of the patients.

The hospital administration is accusing the US firm of not providing tools for calibration, not making arrangements for training the staff on how to use the machines and for not providing proper technical catalogues along with voltage stabilizer with surge protection.

It also pointed fingers at the vendor for not providing relevant certification besides not submitting warranty on judicial papers. They said the satisfactory report of the working of the machines were obtained from the user instead of the electromedical engineer (EME).

The hospital administration said the performance of the machines suggest that they were not brand new. It appeared that they were revamped in a neighbouring country, where the company maintains its regional office. The overhauled machines were allegedly again marketed via Dubai.

The allegations were rejected by the company’s representative and claimed that these machines were brand new and both were handed over to the end-users on November 29, 2001 in good condition.

He said the installation was completed and demonstrated on January 2002, and the staff concerned was provided training. The installation report already existed in the hospital files.

He added that the engineer and product specialists of the company visited the hospital four times, the latest being in April 25, 2002, checked the centrifuges and handed over in good working condition in the presence of senior Pims officials.

He said the engineer had noticed during his visit to the hospital in April that the board of the centrifuge in the Children Hospital was not working, but the officials concerned did not allow him to remove the fault.

He said during the last four months the company had not received any complaints about the two centrifuges.

Referring to the allegations of not providing satisfactory installation certificate to the EME, he said the centrifuges were shifted from stores to the site of the end-user in the presence of the EME staff and the engineers/product specialists requested them to participate in training, but they were allegedly not interested rather hesitant to join and sign the report intentionally.

The representative categorically stated that the centrifuges were world’s best machines besides the company had never been a defaulter and did not like to disown its commitments.

Source said the hospital management was threatening to blacklist the vendor representing the US firm after informing the other relevant departments of Pakistan, if the company failed to fulfil the terms and conditions of the contract especially when the centrifuges were still under warranty period.