In India, an estimated Rs 10,000 crore worth of existing medical equipment in government hospitals and dispensaries across all states is dysfunctional. Madhya Pradesh has a worst record, with 68% medical equipment dysfunctional in various government hospitals in the state. West Bengal (57%), Bihar (43%) and Uttrakhand (36%) are other states where maintenance of medical equipment is pathetic resulting in wastage of resources, extra burden on patients, causalities. Even in a progressive state like Karnataka ,30% medical equipment are dysfunctional in the public health facilities.
The dysfunctional equipment include everything from a weighing machine or ECG machine to a dialysis machine or X-ray machiene. Eleven states -- Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Puducherry have outsourced the maintenance. Other…
