The Health department has focussed on disposing of condemned and unserviceable material, equipment and furniture in government hospitals, medical colleges, teaching hospitals and district/area hospitals, among others.
The department had issued a series of guidelines relating to condemnation and disposal of equipment that has turned obsolete. The decision follows complaints raised by the heads of departments that huge quantity of condemnable material is available in the hospitals and it was occupying lot of space as there was no clarity on the procedure that needed to be adopted for their condemnation and disposal.
Health secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam, in the orders issued on Monday, directed the hospitals to form committees to deal with condemnation of the equipment following a set of parameters. The committees would comprise hospital superintendent/chief medical officer, resident medical officer, nursing superintendent/senior most nursing staff and technical professionals concerned with machinery/accessories, and assistant director/administrative officer.
The committee should examine parameters like life of the equipment according to manufacturers’ description, uneconomical repairable condition of the equipment as certified by the service agency and disposable value of the items proposed for condemnation. The committee could take decisions on items that cost up to Rs. 5 lakh of original cost of each item of equipment/machinery while a decision in relation to those valued above Rs. 5 lakh would be taken by respective principals/superintendents/district coordinator for health services.
The committee should meet once annually and complete condemnation of unused items and it should consider buyback policy wherever offered before approving the process. In smaller institutions where a committee is not constituted, the head of the institution is permitted to inspect the articles and approve condemnation subject to obtaining an inspection report on the condition of the articles.
Tender systemThe committee should follow limited tender system if the value is between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. One lakh while the AP Tender Act would be followed in cases where the revenue is expected to be over Rs. One lakh. Public auction would be conducted in cases where the expected revenue would be less than Rs. 25,000 and the upset price for disposal of condemned items would be fixed locally by the officials concerned.
