Mumbai: Covid inventory worth crores pile up at hospital godowns – ET HealthWorld

Mumbai: Medical equipment worth crores is piling up at hospital godowns as BMC waits to hear from the state government and peripheral corporations about their requirement for multiparameter monitors, ICU beds and ventilators, offered at no cost and available immediately.

The slow demand and distribution of medical gear purchased during the pandemic for jumbo covid centres are leading to concerns about the usability of these machines.

As the Covid curve started to decline early this year, the BMC gave its first orders in February to dismantle five of the nine jumbos. Subsequently, they ordered the closure of the remaining four facilities in July. Nine months later, the BMC is still left with a rich inventory and few eager takers. Notably, the removal of 28 PSA oxygen generation plants began only last week, and there is a question mark on their future.

Items including ICU and paediatric beds to top-of-the-line ventilators, Bipap machines, chest x-ray machines, defibrillators, monitor to wheel chairs, bedside lockers, are stacked at the storage facility of SevenHills Hospital in Marol. The surplus inventory is despite civic hospitals, including KEM, Sion, Cooper and Rajawadi, taking various items to start new units and bolster existing ones.

The BMC and MMRDA have made offers to both public health department and medical education department. TOI learnt that MMRDA made an offer to the public health department almost 45 days ago, and while the department assessed the machines, it hasn’t responded.

Last week, BMC wrote to state’s medical education secretary Ashwini Joshi and Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), offering them equipment. Dr Neelam Andrade, director of major hospitals, confirmed that they had a meeting with JJ Hospital last week. “We are waiting for the JJ team to evaluate their need and the condition of the machines,” she said. Andrade, who was the dean of NESCO jumbo centre, said 90% of their equipment had come from a trust on condition that they would be returned. BKC jumbo centre has deposited all its equipment at Somaiya Hospital. Dr Prashant Mishra, head of Malad jumbo, said, “Our leftover equipment is at SevenHills, and the rest have gone to Sion, Borivli Haematology Centre.”