Kerala Orders Emergency Steps as Medicine Shortage Hits Government Hospitals

The Kerala government has directed the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) to convene an emergency board meeting and complete the processing of pending medicine purchase orders without delay, as government hospitals across the State grapple with shortages of essential drugs and supplies.

At a meeting convened by Health Minister K. Muraleedharan on Tuesday, the corporation was also asked to contact the State medical corporations of Tamil Nadu or Rajasthan, if required, to examine the possibility of procuring medicines from them to tide over the shortage.

The directives follow reports of short supply of several basic drugs, antibiotics and the rabies vaccine, stretching from peripheral hospitals to tertiary care centres. The problem has drawn attention because the epidemic season continues to record infectious diseases in large numbers every day.

District medical officers told the meeting that stocks were available at hospitals, but that supplies were running low at the procurement and storage centres of the KMSCL, the central agency responsible for supplying medicines to around 8,000 government health-care institutions.

Government hospitals have faced shortages of several medicines and medical supplies over the past few weeks. While the government initially declined to acknowledge the problem, the Health Minister later admitted that some medicines were in short supply and said efforts were under way to speed up procurement.

The immediate cause appears to lie in delays in the KMSCL's annual procurement and re-tendering process. In the latest procurement exercise, 180 items reportedly attracted no bids, while suppliers quoted higher prices for another 171 items, forcing re-tendering and delaying fresh orders.

As a short-term measure, hospitals have been asked to make local purchases immediately using hospital development society funds. However, most public hospitals do not have adequate funds at their disposal because of large overdue payments owed to them by the government, a backlog that originated during the previous Left Democratic Front government and has worsened over the years.

Mr. Muraleedharan said medicines for which purchase orders have already been placed are expected to reach hospitals soon, and that all steps were being taken to expedite the process. He set October 15 as the deadline for resolving the current shortage.

He also asked the KMSCL to begin the procurement process for the next financial year in October itself and complete it by the end of December, with supplies expected from February 2027.

On epidemic control, the Minister directed district health officials to strengthen field-level activities and ensure that necessary drugs are available at periphery hospitals. Health inspectors and other field workers have been asked to identify disease hotspots and focus on home visits to make people more alert to the epidemic situation.

Senior health officials, district medical officers and KMSCL officials attended the meeting.