Health and Family Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday instructed his department officials to cancel existing tenders and call for fresh ones for running ‘108’ ambulances and also work towards improving the condition of State-run dialysis centres across Karnataka.
The 108 Arogya Kavacha service, run by the State government on a public-private partnership model (PPP) model with GVK-EMRI, was launched in 2008.
After reviewing programmes and schemes of the department, Mr. Rao told reporters that the current state of the dialysis centres was not up to the mark, and the cost of each dialysis procedure was also high.
“I reviewed the current tender with officials and observed that the prices are high. A fresh tender will be invited under which the cost can be reduced with improved quality. Shortage of nephrologists in these centres will also be addressed,” he said.
Department officials too maintained that the condition of the dialysis centres was poor, and discrepancies had continued for a few months now. With equipment in many centres being dysfunctional, there was also a shortage of nephrologists, they told the Minister.
No supervision
Under the Prime Minister National Dialysis Programme, there are 167 centres running in Karnataka and many of them have been operating without the supervision of a nephrologist.
Officials maintained that the lack of supervision at these centres caused a decline in the delivery of services. The Minister noted that at ₹1,120, the current cost of dialysis was high and it should be reduced with the new tender.
