Supply shortage forces SCTIMST doctors to call off neuro-interventional procedures indefinitely
Shortage or near-total unavailability of necessary materials for neuro Cath laboratories—high-end specialised catheters, stents and specialised soft platinum coils used for endovascular coiling to treat brain aneurysms—has led clinicians at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to call off all scheduled neuro-interventional procedures from next week, throwing patient care into disarray.
Many patients who were scheduled to undergo interventional procedures from this weekend, after being on the waiting list for long, were informed in the eleventh hour that their procedures were being suspended and that they would have to seek treatment elsewhere.
The decision to suspend all peripheral and neuro-interventional procedures at the SCTIMST from June 9 was taken by the doctors at the Department of Imaging Sciences (IS) and Interventional Radiology (IR). They pointed out that they were unable to perform routine and emergency interventional procedures because the manufacturers had withdrawn all supplies from the Cath labs.
In a letter to the Director of the SCTIMST on Friday, the doctors said that they had been repeatedly reminding the administration since November 2023 that essential intervention materials for the Cath labs of the IS and IR department were going short. They said that they were using the bare minimum resources to continue doing the neuro-intervention procedures.
The doctors pointed out that they had taken up this issue with the administration multiple times and even suggested possible solutions. Yet, 'the current administration had not been able to maintain the operational needs of one of the institute's key departments, one that has played a foundational role in advancing endovascular interventions in the country,' they said.
They refused to resume interventional procedures till regular and adequate supply of necessary materials was restored.
Mostly imported
According to sources, the problem of shortage of supplies arose because the rate contract for medical supplies was not renewed after 2023 and the contract rates were being extended. Most of the materials used for neuro-intervention procedures are imported and after import prices went up, the manufacturers and suppliers refused to continue supplying the same at the rates quoted in 2023.
'The Union government wants all public procurement to go through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal for more streamlined and transparent procurement but there have been many quality concern issues, technical rejections due to non-conformance to specifications and so on, leading to huge delays in procurement. On the other hand, there are no Indian-made substitutes for the kind of Cath lab materials that the IR dept needs. It is unusual for doctors at the SCTIMST to show open defiance but the Radiology department felt that they were driven to the wall,' a senior doctor at the SCTIMST told The Hindu.
The SCTIMST administration officials said that till now, as an autonomous institution, the doctors at the SCTIMST had a say regarding purchases. 'However, from May 2023, it is mandatory that all public procurements be made through the GeM portal. The current stalemate over procurement has all to do with the shifting over to the new purchase system. It is very cumbersome and there are many process delays, especially when some of the items that Radiology needs are customised. Our doctors are very upset and it is hurting our patients but we need time to tide over this mess,' an administrative official said.
Institute's statement
The SCTIMST later issued a statement that due to the ongoing streamlining of the procurement process of interventional devices, 'there will be a rescheduling of certain neuro-interventional procedures.'
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