Billions of takas worth of medical supplies are now being dumped

News Desk: An analog X-ray machine is falling on the floor of Munshiganj Diabetes Hospital. Similarly, there are 533 other medical equipments including biochemistry analyzer. The government has spent one crore 49 lakh 25 thousand rupees to buy them. This is according to the Project Completion Report (PCR) of the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning.

Munshiganj Diabetic Society was established in 1996 with the help of local social workers, industrialists and philanthropists. Since its inception, the association has been assisting diabetics with treatment and counseling. But in Munshiganj, as in other parts of the country, the number of diabetic patients was increasing day by day and it was not possible for the Munshiganj Diabetic Association to provide necessary services to them. Therefore, with the financial support of the government, the project 'Establishment of Munshiganj Diabetes Hospital' was undertaken at a cost of Taka 24 crore 75 lakh 18 thousand through the Department of Social Services. One of the objectives of the project is to create awareness about the harmful aspects of diabetes, to give proper advice to the diabetic patients about proper living, to provide medical / social counseling / services to the growing diabetic patients in the country and to rehabilitate the patients. At least 30 percent free treatment for poor patients. Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Ministry of Planning The project was adopted for implementation from January 2015 to June 2018. The project was completed in June 2019. However, two years after the completion of the project, no one is getting services there. Expensive equipment bought by the government at the cost of crores of rupees is lying on the floor of the hospital. According to the IMED report, 534 medical equipments have been procured under the project and expenditure has been incurred in various other sectors. Of this, Tk 3 crore 29 lakh 29 thousand has been spent on land acquisition and Tk 18 crore 81 lakh has been spent on construction work.

Besides, 432 pieces of furniture at a cost of Tk 11 lakh, a generator at a cost of Tk 25 lakh, office equipment at a cost of Tk 13 lakh 55 thousand, construction of a water reservoir at a cost of Tk 13 lakh 75 thousand and solar panels have been purchased. In all, 22 crore 57 lakh 8 thousand taka has been spent under the project. IMED director said. Mosharraf Hossain said that the incidents of not being able to start even after buying equipment often happen. Many times hospitals are built, equipment is bought but for various reasons it is not started. We take action against all this. I write the observation report and send it to the ministry and department. Munshiganj Diabetic Hospital locked from inside Inconsistency in project implementation, careless equipment According to the IMED report, Tk 1.5 crore was allocated for 517 medical equipments under this project. Later, 534 equipments were procured through inter-sector coordination of the project. During the on-site inspection of the IMED representatives, it was seen that most of the purchased equipment was dumped in different rooms of the building. Since these equipments have not been used for a long time, there is a danger of damage. These include equipment such as ultrasound machines, automated biochemistry analyzers, 500mA X-ray machines, autoclaves / steam sterilizers. 432 medical furniture have been purchased under the project. These furniture are also neglected. The IMED report has mentioned various inconsistencies in the implementation of the project. The Project Completion Report (PCR) states that from the ground floor to the fourth floor of the building, transparent glass has been installed instead of dark glass on the west side of the toilets on the north side of the building. The laundry room does not have water point and water disposal system for the machine. There was no stairway to the roof of the sub-station building. There was no permanent staircase to enter the elevator machine room and no room for the liftman.

Walfans were not installed inside the elevator. But 6 lakh 75 thousand rupees has been spent for setting up the lift. Munshiganj Diabetic Hospital building Most of the wall around the RCC water tank built on the roof of the building was found to be salty. Part of the RCC water tank has been constructed using attic pillars without following the approved design. The RCC water tank on the roof of the building was not constructed on the spot. IMED's recommendation in the project IMED has given some recommendations to the concerned people about the project. It said that the toilets on the north side of the building from the ground floor to the fourth floor of the hospital building should be replaced with dark glass by replacing the transparent glass with dark glass, water points for machines in the laundry room and water disposal. Arrangement of stairs to the roof of the sub-station building, construction of room for liftmen, repainting of RCC water tank and ensuring supply and installation of lights. The project director will also have to explain the construction of part of the RCC water tank using attic pillars without following the approved design.

IMED urges to ensure proper use of unused medical equipment to achieve the desired benefits of the project. IMED reports that medical equipment is neglected on the floor of Munshiganj Diabetic Hospital Munshiganj District Social Services Office Deputy Director in the context of the loss of medical equipment. Mainuddin Sarkar said there was a deadline for buying equipment.

For this reason, equipment has already been purchased. Money would have been lost if equipment had not been purchased. However, he claimed that no equipment was damaged but it was well preserved.