Pricing mechanism for medical items leads to confusion, shortage in Kerala

The fixing of most retail worth of face masks, finger-tip pulse oximeter and different medical items by bringing it below the ambit of the Kerala Essential Articles Control Act has created a chaos in the market and should lead to doable shortage of those merchandise.

While issuing the pricing order, the Food and Civil Supplies division didn’t point out the standard and the specification of the merchandise, which has led to widespread confusion in the sector, complain merchants.

The order had fastened the utmost retail worth of 15 merchandise final week by which a Personal Protection Equipment package has to be bought at ₹ 273, a chunk of N 95 masks at ₹ 22, a triple layer masks (₹ 3.90), a face defend (₹ 21), a 500 ml bottle of hand sanitiser (₹ 192) a chunk of fingertip pulse oximeter (₹ 1500) and oxygen masks at ₹ 54 a chunk.

It was following a central authorities order to “ensure the availability of medical items to common man at fair prices” that the State authorities fastened the worth, on a suggestion forwarded by the Department of Health and Family welfare.

The prospect of dealing with authorized motion together with imprisonment up to one 12 months and high-quality awaits those that are convicted for the violation of the Act.

The authorities order, stated Dr. Shibu Vijayan, a public well being professional, is silent on the standard specs of those merchandise or the retailers at which they might be obtainable. This will lead to severe points in the well being sector. There wants to be transparency on the standard parameters and the pricing mechanism and retailers at which it will be obtainable, failing which low high quality supplies and merchandise would flood the market. It will even lead to utter chaos in the well being sector, go away adversarial impacts on covid care and administration and sabotage the general public well being system of the State, cautioned Dr. Vijayan.

According to R. Devadas, the State president of the All Kerala Scientific and Surgical Dealers Association, many medical retailers have reportedly stopped promoting these merchandise as the worth fastened for these items didn’t match even the manufacturing price.

Though the Association has not formally issued any name for stopping the sale of those merchandise, it’s understood that numerous members have stopped its commerce. A state of affairs has advanced the place one has to promote the merchandise at a worth decrease than the procurement worth, which is untenable, stated Mr. Devadas.

The flat fee for ₹ 65 fastened for surgical gloves, identified Rajesh Pillai, Ernakulam district secretary of the affiliation, was illogical as gloves come in totally different specs and high quality. It’s additionally the case with a number of merchandise, he stated.

“I have stopped selling triple ply and N 95 masks, which was procured at a higher price than fixed by the government. I would incur huge loss if I sell them at the government price,” stated P.K. Indukala, who runs a medical store in Kochi.

Responding to the developments, P. Venugopal, secretary, Civil Supplies Department, apprehended that the confusion over the pricing was created to sabotage the worth regulation drive. Earlier, there was no pricing mechanism for these merchandise and it was free for all state of affairs that prevailed. The authorities notification is meant to stop hoarding of merchandise and finish fleecing of shoppers. The high quality parameters relevant for the merchandise will maintain good in the State, he added.