THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has postponed several non-emergency neuro-interventional procedures due to a shortage of essential devices, sparking major inconvenience for patients and political backlash.
According to a statement from the hospital, the rescheduling is due to an ongoing effort to streamline the procurement process for interventional devices. While cardiology procedures, including paediatric interventions, will continue as planned, neuro and peripheral interventional surgeries have been suspended starting Monday.
As a result, five urgent interventional surgeries and two neuro procedures have been indefinitely delayed, affecting patients from Tamil Nadu and other regions referred to the institute.
The Department of Imaging Sciences and Interventional Radiology confirmed the suspension of all peripheral and neuro-interventional procedures. Doctors blamed the crisis on delays in procurement, alleging that hospital authorities failed to prioritise timely device acquisition. Suppliers reportedly declined to honour previous contracts from 2023 without a revision in rates, exacerbating the crisis.
Adding to the challenge is a Union government mandate requiring all purchases to be made through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal. While aimed at improving transparency, the policy has drawn criticism from the medical community for complicating procurement and introducing significant delays.
In response to the crisis, Union Minister Suresh Gopi convened an emergency meeting at the institute on Monday. He said that efforts are under way to resume surgeries within two days and that procurement bottlenecks would be resolved within two weeks. He also pledged to raise the issue with the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh and the Prime Minister’s Office.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George has directed the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram to accommodate patients in need of urgent neuro surgeries.
The situation triggered protests from both the Youth Congress and DYFI, who demonstrated outside the director’s office.