Equipment shouldn’t be allowed to lie idle, AIIMS chief tells doctors & staff

The AIIMS chief said that during his rounds, it appeared that a few medical equipments were idle and there is potential to increase their utility by sharing them with other departments.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

NEW DELHI:   Citing underutilised machineries during rounds within the hospital area, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr M Srinivas has asked the staff and doctors to prepare a utilisation ratio of all such equipment.

In a memorandum issued from the director’s office, the AIIMS chief said that during his rounds, it appeared that a few medical equipments were idle and there is potential to increase their utility by sharing them with other departments.  A plan of action is being sought to improve the utilisation rate with a target to achieve 80 per cent of the utility. 

“It has been decided that all departments shall analyse the utilisation ratio (i.e. the ratio of equipment utilised hours and the equipment hours available) for all medical and diagnostic equipment in their inventory by 31 July, 2023. For equipments, wherein the utilisation ratio is less than 0.5 (i.e. 50%), an action plan shall be prepared to increase the utilisation to at least 0.80 (i.e. 80%),” the memorandum said. 

“For cases, wherein the department is not able to develop a plan for the effective utilisation of any equipment in their inventory, the same shall be reported to the office of the undersigned for sharing/transferring the said equipment to another department wherein it may have better utilisation,” it added.

Meanwhile, in a separate order, the AIIMS administration has asked its staff to achieve ‘zero unplanned procurement’ from through local purchase. The institute said, “It is important to have optimal control of inventory for all types of drugs and implants required at AIIMS to ensure zero unplanned procurement of the same via local purchase even for emergency patients.”

“It is reiterated that procurement via the local purchase system should only be rarely done for emergent requirements of patients. All efforts should be made to target zero local purchases for any non-emergent requirements,” the memorandum read.

‘Share them with other departments’

In a memorandum issued from the director’s office, the AIIMS chief said that during his rounds, it appeared that a few medical equipments were idle and there is potential to increase their utility by sharing them with other departments.