No steps to revive medical shop in Ruia Hospital

Tirupati: The apathy of Ruia Hospital authorities in taking steps to revive the medical shop for the last 18 months in hospital premises was forcing attendants of patients to run at least half a kilometre outside to buy medicines which were not available in the hospital pharmacy.

Based on the hospital bed strength, three medical shops are to be opened on the premises for the convenience of patients. However, two shops which were running as a single shop were closed in December 2017 after the end of the tender period. Since then, no steps were taken by hospital authority to issue fresh tenders and to reopen the shops.

With the initiative of former Collector PS Pradyumna, Red Cross Society has been running one generic shop in the hospital. The hospital pharmacy should possess about 560 listed drugs always and they need to get them by placing indent to Andhra Pradesh Medical Services Infrastructure Corporation (APMSIDC).

If any drugs are not in stock at APMSIDC, they should issue non-availability certificate based on which the hospital has to purchase from outside for which 20 per cent of total budget will be earmarked.

This process will take 1 to 2 weeks during which patients have to suffer. If there is a medical shop in the hospital, they can buy important medicines immediately without any trouble. The patient attendants also may need some medicines, which will not be provided by the hospital. They should invariably buy them in private pharmacies.

For all such needs, patients have to rush at least half a kilometre distance to find a medical shop. The generic shop in the hospital was not having all the listed drugs. The hospital pharmacy was not having several important drugs.

Even, the Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV) was not available there and attendants are purchasing it from outside. Since the closure of the medical shop in December 2017, the hospital was losing lakhs of rupees in the form of rent for those rooms.

Had the Hospital Development Society (HDS) took steps to invite bids to set up pharmacy there, it could have generated much revenue. If they are not interested in opening a medical shop there, it could have been leased out to a canteen or any other store.

During his first meeting as HDS Chairman, the new Collector Dr N Bharat Gupta asked the hospital officials to see that no patient should go out for medicines and every medicine be made available in hospital pharmacy which need to be run round-the-clock.

According to a senior doctor, this process was going on and listing of required drugs was almost completed by obtaining details from each department. A sub-committee was formed to take this ahead and complete the process without much delay. It was learnt that they have listed about 260 drugs which were not available in the hospital and patients are being asked to get them from private pharmacies.