BHUBANESWAR: With the experience of handing over procurement of medical equipment to the Orissa Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) bordering on the dismal, the State Government has begun to look up to the Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) for its hospital projects management.The move could come as a boon for the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) at Cuttack, which has been waiting for procurement and installation of Linear Accelerators (linac) and spiral CT scan machines for the last four years. The OSIC had been entrusted with the responsibility of procuring the machines worth over Rs 18 crore but got stuck in procedural delays and legal wranglings.The National PSU HLL has been providing procurement and consultancy services on hospital projects across the country. It has been designated as a National Procurement Support Agency (NPSA) by the Central Government. If the HLL takes over, the entire process would be completed in seven to eight months and the services could be offered as early as June next year. The HLL’s consultancy division would take up all works from procurement to construction of the Linac studio and installation of the equipment and hand it over to the AHRCC in final shape, sources said.Besides, plans are also on to deliver the job of establishment and management of the state-of-the-art MRI centres at MKCG Medical, Berhampur, and VSS Medical at Burla to the company under PPP mode. A high-level team of the Health Department under Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET), Prof PK Dash had visited several hospitals and medical institutes in Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu recently to examine the quality of work and services provided by HLL there. While the HLL has set up the Linac Studio at the Regional Cancer Centre, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, the team was pleasantly surprised with the situation at the Kottayam Medical College and Hospital, Kerala, where it has established and managing the MRI centre. The quality and services were so sought after that private nursing homes and hospitals were sending their cases to the government hospital in a role reversal. “We will soon submit our report to the Government,” Prof Dash said.The process of procurement of hospital equipment through OSIC has been questioned due to the inordinate delay. The State PSU along with its lack of expertise in handling hi-tech medical equipment has also been drawn into frequent litigations over the procurement process, which led to purchases hanging fire for years together.
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