Mahakali Hospital in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, has scrapped a tender with a private supplier company as the latter was found supplying old medical equipment and tools to the hospital. 

The hospital management cancelled the deal reached with RG Supplier after the company supplied an old and rusty ventilator to the hospital. 

“We will return all the goods procured from the supplier. We had awarded the tender to the company to supply one ventilator and other health equipment. We have not issued payment to the supplier,” said Dr Hari Shrestha, medical superintendent at the hospital.

With an objective to develop the hospital as a coronavirus treatment centre, the hospital had invited tender of Rs 5.7 million three weeks ago to purchase a ventilator, patient monitors, and blood gas analysers, among other medical equipment. The goods were supplied to the hospital a week ago. 

The Kanchanpur office of Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority was also concerned as the media reported about irregularities while purchasing the medical equipment. “An investigation is underway into the incident. We have seized the documents related to the procurement,” said Top Bahadur Bista, the spokesperson of the anti-graft body.

On Wednesday, a technician from the Social Development Ministry of Sudurpaschim Province arrived in Mahendranagar and inspected the medical equipment. Biomedical engineer Harendra Chataut submitted a report to the ministry after he checked the equipment. Chataut said in the report that the ventilator was old and its trolley and gas pipes were rusty.

The ministry had recently provided Rs 10 million to Mahakali Hospital to install various equipment and tools and develop the institution as a Covid-19 treatment centre.

The federal government had also scrapped its agreement with a private company, Omni Business Corporate International, to purchase protective gear, reagents and other medical equipment from China following controversies on April 1.

The Department of Health Services on March 26 had awarded the tender to the company for medical equipment necessary to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. But the contract had run into controversy, as it was awarded without any competitive bidding, despite a number of importers applying for the contract. There were also concerns over their price and standards, especially since a number of European countries have recalled thousands of pieces of defective Chinese medical equipment, including testing kits and masks.