Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 20: In a glaring example of administrative inertia, the authorities of Health department have failed to negotiate the rates with bidders for procuring much needed critical care ambulances. Jammu and Kashmir is prone to accidents. Every year thousands of accidents take place. However, many lose their lives, as the state lacks critical care ambulances.
The 102 and 108 free ambulance services project aimed to deal with emergencies and ferrying of referral patients from one place to another was conceived in 2011. As many as 416 ambulances were supposed to be rolled out under this project. The number 102 and 108 are toll-free and can be dialed from any phone, be it mobile phone or landline, without any prefix or suffix. In January this year, the authorities of the Health department decided that service will be rolled out by the end of the April, but the implementation agency National Health Mission (NHM) is still struggling for the funds.
In January this year, as per a document of the Health department, various stakeholders were assigned different roles for running the project.
"It was agreed upon that 416 such ambulances will be rolled out across the J&K beginning from April, with clear directions of meeting with the set deadline," the document reveals. "…By 28th April, 2019, 102/108 services are expected to Go-Live. MD JKMSCL also intimidated that the draft MoU stands prepared and shared with Mission Director, NHM as well," the document reads.
"This will include retrofitting of 50 ambulances for advanced life support (with all lifesaving protocols), 66 of Basic Life Support and functional fleet of 300 JSSK ambulances for GPS devices," it added.
An official said, "Tendering process is complete. However, NHM has held up the project as the rate for one of the components by the bidder was found much higher. Authorities are not serious on negotiating the rates."
He said, "The major bottle-neck is lack of engineering wing within Health department. We don't have trained manpower who can undertake such tasks. Even, the tendering agency, Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation (JKMSCL) was formed in 2016 and they started working in 2107. It is still in the infancy stage."
He said that government was not taking procurement of the much needed critical care ambulances seriously. |
