Vigilance Probe into Idle iPhones, Ventilators in Kerala Hospitals
A growing list of unused medical assets has pushed Kerala's government to launch a vigilance inquiry into equipment purchases made for its public hospitals. Among the items under review are 224 iPhones and fundus cameras worth Rs 7.16 crore, many of which are lying unused and some of which are reportedly untraceable.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is expected to investigate alleged corruption and wasteful spending in the procurement of medical equipment. Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly on Monday that the government would order the probe, after Congress MLA Abin Varkey Kodiyattu brought the matter to the House.
The review also includes 128 ventilators provided under the PM CARES scheme. Most of the purchases were made during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the first government of Pinarayi Vijayan was in power. The probe will not be confined to that period, as purchases from other years are also being examined.
Unused ventilators, numbering 128, are kept at medical colleges in Kottayam, Manjeri, Kannur and Kozhikode. Officials have voiced concern about quality, operational dependability and maintenance expenses linked to these machines.
Two oxygen generation plants installed at Alappuzha Medical College have also drawn attention. They were supplied by the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) but have not been fully commissioned, and they have failed to produce oxygen at the expected quantity and pressure.
The government has formed a special team led by the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department. Its mandate is to assess equipment quality, determine whether each purchase was necessary, identify the reasons for installation failures and explain why equipment has gone unused for extended periods.
Reports from the medical colleges have been submitted and are currently under examination. Similar unused equipment has been identified in health institutions in Wayanad and Ernakulam.
Muraleedharan stated that public money invested in medical equipment cannot be allowed to be wasted. The government intends to fix responsibility on officials where warranted and act accordingly. Useful equipment may also be redistributed to hospitals that need it.
The state has a biomedical equipment maintenance programme and a district-level monitoring framework in place. The vigilance inquiry comes amid rising questions over costly equipment purchases, installation failures and long periods of non-use in the public health system.