The agency, responsible for drugs and medical equipment in Kerala's public health institutions, faces serious allegations of mismanagement and safety lapses.
Published Jan 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM
The Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited is responsible for drugs and medical equipment in Kerala's public health institutions.
The Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL), the central procurement agency for drugs and medical equipment for Kerala’s public health institutions in the modern medicine sector, finds itself in the eye of a storm once again.
From damning findings in a fresh audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to recurring allegations of mismanagement and mysterious fire accidents, KMSCL has repeatedly found itself on the wrong side of transparency and accountability.
Despite its critical role in ensuring uninterrupted healthcare services, the corporation’s functioning has repeatedly raised questions, leaving many wondering: who will bell the KMSCL?
The latest trigger for scrutiny is the CAG report on public health infrastructure, tabled in the Kerala Assembly on 21 January. The report paints a grim picture of KMSCL’s operations, citing systemic failures, policy violations, and lapses that jeopardise the state’s healthcare system.
Medicines stored in a KMSCL depot.
A key mandate of KMSCL is to prevent drug shortages in Kerala’s public hospitals. However, the CAG report reveals that this mission remains unfulfilled.
It found that drug availability in district-level hospitals ranged from a dismal 44 per cent to 58 per cent of the required 603 essential drugs and consumables during the audit period (2016-17 to 2021-22).
Factors contributing to these shortages include unrealistic demand forecasting, delayed procurement, and vendors failing to supply on time. The report highlights significant lapses in inventory management, such as the failure to follow the First Expiry First Out (FEFO) principle.
Shockingly, in 30 of the 67 audited hospitals, staff left drugs with earlier expiry dates unused, while issuing later batches. Even more alarming, hospital staff administered expired drugs and supplies worth ₹0.89 lakh to patients in 26 hospitals.
This violation not only risks patient safety but also erodes public confidence in the healthcare system.
The CAG report also criticises KMSCL’s policy of subjecting only 10 per cent of drugs to quality checks, which allowed multiple suppliers and batches to bypass scrutiny entirely. During the audit period, all supplies from 14 suppliers escaped quality checks.
The findings call attention to the corporation’s inadequate monitoring mechanisms, which expose patients to potentially substandard drugs.
Allegations of supplier favouritism have further tarnished the corporation’s reputation. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, KMSCL granted one supplier 100 per cent of the purchase value as an advance, flouting procurement norms.
Additionally, irregularities in procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) kits caused the state an additional expenditure of ₹10.23 crore.
This is not the first time KMSCL has come under fire. A 2013 CAG audit revealed similar issues, including the procurement of drugs without stipulated shelf life, resulting in ₹2.91 crore worth of expired medicines.
Additionally, the corporation failed to conduct quality tests for essential drugs like insulin, anti-venom, and anti-rabies vaccines, despite collecting ₹3.58 crore as testing charges from suppliers.
Medical equipment supplied by KMSCL.
Adding to KMSCL’s troubles, a series of fire incidents in 2023 at its godowns in Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Alappuzha have fuelled suspicions of foul play.
Opposition leaders termed these incidents “mysterious,” alleging sabotage to destroy evidence linked to an ongoing Lokayukta probe into pandemic-era procurement irregularities.
The Kollam fire alone caused losses of ₹7.48 crore, whilst the Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha fires resulted in damages of ₹1.32 crore and ₹0.5 crore, respectively. In total, the fires cost the state over ₹9 crore.
Initial reports suggested that stockpiles of bleaching powder were responsible for the outbreaks, but sceptics, including Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, have questioned this explanation.
One of the fires in Thiruvananthapuram tragically claimed the life of firefighter J S Renjith. Despite the formation of a special investigative team in June 2023, its findings remain undisclosed, leaving the public in the dark.
The Kerala government has defended KMSCL in the Assembly, dismissing the allegations as attempts to tarnish the state’s acclaimed health sector. However, critics argue that these systemic failures undermine Kerala’s reputation for robust healthcare. The corporation’s inability to address past audit findings and implement corrective measures has only added to the chorus of scepticism.
A senior health official told South First, “Issues exist with KMSCL. The mounting evidence of lapses demands urgent intervention. The latest CAG report should act as a wake-up call for systemic reform within the KMSCL. It underscores the need for robust inventory management, stringent quality checks, transparent procurement policies, and accountability mechanisms to restore public trust.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
