'States not allowed to procure PPE kits, other medical equipment on its own'

NEW DELHI: Amid a crucial shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and other medical equipment felt by many hospitals in India due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Central government has directed that State governments and UTs "may not be  able to" procure crucial  edical equipment such as PPE kits, N95 masks and ventilators as  these "should be procured centrally" through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare" and distributed to states. The circular issued last week by the Union Ministry of Health  and Family Welfare to Principal Secretaries (Health and Family Welfare) of All States and UTs. It also had four other directives or State/UT governments. The circular said that these directives were arrived upon after the 3rd meeting of the Empowered Group to ensure production, procurement, Import and Export of medical equipment like PPE kits, ventilators, masks  and gloves, held on April 1. The circular directed all states and UTs to quantify their requirements for all such essential medical equipment, including the fortnightly requirement of these equipment needed for  COVID-19 Management. It also noted that some state government are holding enough medical equipment and are yet not  able to get it to field functionaries and directed that "State Governments should ensure" timely  distribution of this equipment. The Ministry also directed states to evaluate the number of ventilators which are not in working condition and start  looking at ways to get them working again as soon as possible in addition to asking them to assess and ensure the required number of skilled and unskilled manpower to operate essential medical equipment in their  respective states. The circular further directed the state and UT administrations to quantify their stockpile of Oxygen cylinders and ensure adequate supply for managing COVID-19.

However, the direction prohibiting states and UTs from procuring PPE kist and other medical equipment independently has sparked some doubts among doctors working on the ground in states. Dr Krishnendu Mukherjee, president of Doctors for Patients, an organisation working to provide PPE kits to hospitals in Kolkata, said that while this direction is jus- tified if it balances the need for streamlined quality control with appropriate measures to not make it restrictive. Dr Mukherjee said the Central government should disclose how it is going to ensureand streamline quality control along with itself assessing and quantifying how much medical equipment they currently have, can produce and deliver to hospitals in the requiredtime-frame. It has earlier been reported that the nodal agency for supplying PPE kits to state and government hospitals, HLL Lifecare, was delaying supply of this equipment in view of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.