Hans News Service Hyderabad

HealthMinister C Damodar Raja Narasimha on Friday directed TGMSIDC officials to further strengthen the procurement system to ensure the speedy and transparent supply of quality medical equipment to government hospitals.

During a review meeting held on Friday at the TGMSIDC office in Koti, the Minister reviewed various aspects, including medical equipment procurement, the tender process, the operational status of equipment, and maintenance.

The Minister emphasised that every part of medical equipment installed in government hospitals must be of high quality and made available within the stipulated timeframe.

He instructed officials to prepare proposals for a new system that prioritises transparency and digitalisation. He also suggested taking measures to ensure that all future procurements are conducted according to standardised procedures.

The Minister ordered the complete digitalisation of the procurement process. He directed the implementation of an end-to-end digital tool for procurement and the creation of a system capable of tracking every stage online from the initial indent to final installation at the hospital. He noted that this would enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the procurement process.

The Minister also directed the establishment of a robust monitoring system to ensure the continuous functionality of medical equipment installed in hospitals. It was proposed to set up a centralised dashboard to monitor the performance of equipment in all government hospitals across the state. Instructions were issued to review this dashboard at the senior management level every fortnight and take immediate, necessary action.

The Minister suggested reviewing the existing Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract (CAMC) agreements and amending the rules to impose strict penalties on vendors who fail to adhere to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

He emphasised the need to ensure there was absolutely no room for negligence in equipment maintenance.

He ordered the appointment of eight biomedical engineers to monitor the performance of medical equipment at the field level across the state. He directed that four engineers be assigned to the Hyderabad region and one each to the East, West, South, and North zones to further strengthen equipment monitoring.