Stalemate at Kozhikode MCH likely to continue

Stalemate at Kozhikode hospital over pending payments leads to halt in medicine supply, crisis continues.

The stalemate at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, over the halt in supply of medicines and surgical devices by distributors citing pending payments, is likely to continue for some more days.

According to sources, though discussions were held between the distributors and the hospital authorities on Saturday (January 18), a consensus could not be reached. It is learnt that the distributors demanded that the dues for around ₹30 crore be cleared for resuming supply. The hospital authorities, however, reportedly claimed that it would depend on the release of funds from the government.

The distributors stopped supply of drugs and surgical devices to the hospital from January 10 claiming that the dues had reached around ₹90 crore, and that payments for delivery from April 2024 were pending. Thereafter, the authorities cleared the payments for April and up to May 22. Now, the distributors are insisting on releasing the payments up to September. However, the hospital authorities are reportedly trying to clear the dues up to July. They are expected to raise the issue at a meeting of senior officials to be attended by Health Minister Veena George on Monday (Janaury 20) and Tuesday (January 21).

At the same time, Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited and Karunya Pharmacy have been told by Ms. George to provide 155 essential drugs to the hospital. In a release, K.G. Sajeeth Kumar, Principal, said that the free medical treatment given to patients had not been disrupted.

Meanwhile, M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, is planning to go on a 24-hour fast outside the hospital at 8 a.m. on Sunday (January 19) seeking urgent steps to solve the crisis. Mr. Raghavan told the media on Saturday that the Health Minister and two other Ministers from Kozhikode were ignoring the plight of the patients. Many people were struggling without medicines and surgeries had to be postponed.

K. Praveenkumar, district congress committee president, accused Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas of wasting crores of rupees for the Beypore International Water Festival and neglecting the concerns of patients. The District Collector has yet to visit the institution though he is the chairperson of the hospital development society (HDS). Mr. Praveenkumar claimed that the diversion of HDS funds for construction works was one of the reasons for the current financial crisis.