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LAHORE: The health department has distributed 50,000 “defective water resistant gowns” to the government hospitals of Punjab to be used for protection of medical staff and attendants against highly dangerous diseases — Crimean -Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and Pandemic Influenza (PI).
The weather in the coming weeks is considered conducive for possible spread of both the CCHF and PI.
The primary and secondary healthcare department had badly felt the need for procuring “infection-control gowns” to prevent spread of highly dangerous pathogen virus among humans, following reports of the potential threat to the population in Punjab.
A duty doctor had reportedly contacted the virus last year during treatment of a CCHF patient at a government hospital in Bahawalpur and lost his life, while some other cases of the virus spread had also been reported.
The Punjab government took notice of the situation and directed the health authorities to ensure procurement of high-quality infection-control gowns to protect the medical staff as well as the attendants visiting the hospitals against the virus.
Accordingly, the department procured the kits (gowns) under Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Programme.
As per bidding documents (a copy available with Dawn) the rate of Rs379 per “water resistant gown” was approved for procurement of 50,000 gowns at total cost of Rs18.950,000.
However, a committee consisting of senior technical experts during evaluation declared that the gowns procured under the CDC programme appeared to be of “low quality/defective”.
The committee in its report said it had held three sessions, from May 16 to May 19, to exclusively discuss the gowns’ quality.
“There was a general consensus among the members that the gowns are a vital component of an infection-control strategy intended to protect the wearer from the transfer of microorganisms and body fluids in low or minimal risk patient isolation situations”, the committee said.
It observed that out of various categories of gowns e.g. “Water impermeable and Water Resistant with varying specifications are used in the health care settings, especially in the effective containment and control of communicable diseases”.
The committee reported that the members evaluated the consignment of 50,000 water resistant gowns supplied by M/S Three Starts Medical Supplies, Lahore, accordingly.
“The committee analysed in detail the facts and arrived at the unanimous recommendations that the consignment of 50,000 water resistant gowns supplied by M/S Three Stars Medical Supplies, Lahore, only partially meets the specifications as premised in the bidding & indenting documents”, it said.
According to the documents, the committee also accorded an opportunity of hearing to Mr Ali Zafar, representative of the company, to explain his position. He maintained that the consignment supplied was precisely in accordance with the advertisement in the newspaper, bidding document and purchase order specifications. He insisted that his payment of Rs18,399,316 may be released since the consignment had already been supplied and approved by the inspection committee and the item had been distributed to the end users, according to the documents.
The committee on the basis of its evaluation and analytical reports later declared the ‘gowns’ defective, directing the authorities concerned to withdraw consignment of 50,000 gowns and re-supply the same with “tape” on the seams/stitches”.
Director General Health Services Dr Faisal Zahoor also ordered stoppage of the payment in the wake of the committee’s recommendations.
However, the official documents revealed, “Worthy secretary primary & secondary healthcare department Ali Jan directed to clear the payment of the firm with imposition of 20% penalty and to fix responsibility to the officer/officials involved”
Later, the “defective gowns” were distributed to the district hospitals of Punjab amid reservations and objections of the committee. The officials concerned termed it blatant violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules.
Health Secretary Ali Jan, defending his position, told Dawn the procurement process was adopted under given rules and regulations.
He said the procurement met all the specifications given in the bidding process.
He further said the health department had also made procurement last year against the same specifications and nothing was wrong with the present one.
“The reservations and observations of the committee which has declared the water resistant gowns defective, can be considered for future procurement but it can’t be applied to the present procurement”, Mr Jan made it clear.
He also defended his decision, saying that he fully accepted the responsibilities in respect of procurement of 50,000 water resistant gowns.
They said according to the PPRA rules, the penalty could be fixed on only late delivery or low shelf-life of any procured item.
The officials seeking anonymity said the department has not only caused loss to the national exchequer but also put lives of many human beings at risk. |
