Rs 3 cr blocked due to unwarranted purchases by hospitals: CAG

Hospitals under Delhi government procured items and consumables which lay unused in stock for prolonged periods without assessing their requirement resulting in blocking of Rs 3.16 crore, observed the CAG in its audit of the years 2010-2015.
The audit is part of the report tabled today in Delhi Assembly that covers the procurement, maintenance and use of medical equipment in government hospitals.
Audit scrutiny of stock registers of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital, Guru Nanak Eye Centre and Lok Nayak Hospital showed that they procured 110 items costing Rs 1.91 crore, much in excess of the actual requirement.

It was established by the fact that items were lying unused in stock for long periods ranging from 5 months to 14 years as on March 31, 2015.
In GTB hospital, four items--post operative multi- parameter monitors, emergency recovery trolleys, cardiac monitors and clamp IV pole--purchased at a cost of Rs 62.79 lakh remained unutilised for almost five years.
Lok Nayak hospital purchased 14 items worth Rs 60.40 lakh (including mayus/metzbaum scissors costing Rs 18.97 lakh) between January and March 2001. However, 5,349 mayos/metzbaum scissors were lying idle in the store after 15 years of their purchase for want of indent from any department of the hospital.

"It points to the unwarranted purchases that were made without assessing the actual requirement, resulting in unfruitful expenditure of Rs 1.91 crore," the report stated.

Similarly, in Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, audit observed that Cardiology Department procured 87 consumable items of Rs 1.25 crore between March 2013 and April 2014, which were not used as of August 2015.
Out of 87 items, 73 items worth Rs 1.06 crore were purchased in bulk in July 2013 and March 2014, but not used as of August 2015.
"This showed that procurement of items and consumables was made without assessing the actual requirement and unjustified and resulted in blocking of Rs 3.16 crore," the report said.