MUMBAI, May 13: Shortage of essential medical equipments has hit hard patients coming to Nair Hospital. They are being advised to buy not only medicines but also gloves, needles, syringes from outside.`No stock' lists have been put up in many of the hospital wards. One such list includes gloves, syringes, needles, ampicilin injections, intra-venous flagyl, potassium chloride and intra-venous 50 per cent glucose.

According to doctors, some anti-biotics, anti-tuberculosis drugs, cough expectorant and sometimes, basic medicines like voveran and brufen and paracytamol are in short supply forcing patients to go into open market.Delay in the arrival of drugs from companies situated in far off places like Gujarat and Kolhapur are cited as the main reason. Besides, octroi poses a problem, especially during times like the recent transport strike. In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget for 1997-98, total contracts worth Rs 10 crores have been awarded to 28 companies, of which 14 companies are from outside Maharashtra and, three from within the state are from outside Mumbai.

However, medical store owners stated there is no shortage of essential medicines. And if a certain batch of drugs has not arrived from the company, they are bought from the open market. ``As for paracetamol, it is always available,'' said an official. According to doctors, gloves, syringes, needles and bulbs to collect blood samples are always in short supply. ``Sometimes we pick up a few from the other departments on the sly or actually hide some in our lockers! Otherwise, we are compelled to ask the patient to buy these from outside. And if the patient simply cannot afford these, we come down to using used needles,'' they say. Dr Kumud Nihlani, Dean, Nair Hospital, stressed that the hospital has adequate funds. ``Some equipment or medicine might be out of stock sometime. If anyone needs equipment or medicine, they should come to me,'' she said, adding, ``needles and syringes are prescribed only if the patient insists on using disposables.'' When there are no rubber gloves, doctors use plastic gloves which may even have holes in them.

Doctors are scared that this exposes them to infections besides being dangerous for the patients as well. Says Dr Nihlani, ``As for the gloves, if 30 doctors (including interns and residents) treat one patient, they will use that many pairs of gloves! In fact, I've told doctors to use gloves carefully and not to throw them away for no reason.''

Dr Nihlani admitted that asking the patient to buy gloves is wrong adding , ``However, I will look into the matter.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.