Health officials destroy 20 to 25 blood units in Jagatsinghpur hospital of Orissa every month
Report by Amarnath Parida; Jagatsinghpur: While the patients are struggling to get blood during operation due to want of blood but here at Jagatsinghpur, nearly 20 to 25 units of blood have been destroyed every month due to callous attitude and negligence of officials of health department and exorbitant rate of blood unit than other blood banks.
Red Cross Blood Bank has been operating at Jagatsinghpur district headquarter since 2 years for supplying blood to emergent patients during operation and other diseases. Interestingly, hundreds of precious blood units have been destroyed every year but not a single drop of blood has been used for critical patients because they have been depending on Cuttack Red Cross Bank. Earlier, patients had deepened on Cuttack Blood Bank due to non availability of blood bank but the situation has yet changed because emergent operation patients but now the patients have been depending on Cuttack for various reasons.
After collection , blood units are being tested in laboratory to know the infection or grouping of blood so seven types of tests including HIV, HCV, VDRL,Malaria, blood grouping, blood matching are done in blood bank laboratory. Officials are purchasing the testing kits on double rate than accurate rate by false voucher in every month so they have charged double price on unit of blood. Citing an example, health officials of Cuttack Blood Bank have purchased HIV kits at the rate of Rs 22 for HIV testing while officials have purchased of same kit at the rate of Rs 50 to Rs 60 by false bills and voucher.
Besides this, department has supplied blood transmission sets (BTS) to the medical and blood bank in free of cost while these sets have allegedly supplied to clinic owners, NGOs to collect blood from interested people. Employees with knowledge of officials are selling these sets to them to generate income. There is nexus relation with clinic owners , NGOs and corrupt health officials to sell government supply equipments in local market.
Blood bank has charged Rs 440 towards blood, Rs 40 for grouping and Rs 25 for BTS in which department have fixed the rate Rs 505 per unit. Same blood has been available at the cost of Rs 230 per unit at Cuttack Blood Bank in which Jagatsinghpur blood bank has charged double rate from patients for said reason than other blood banks. One doctor on condition of anonymity has alleged that patients are depending on Cuttack blood bank in stead of local blood bank due to higher rate of unit of blood so the blood units are not coming the service of poor and common people for same reason. After on month of collection, nearly hundreds of units of blood have destroyed within five to six months due to non demand of the public. –he added.
One social activist Mr Ashok Jena has alleged that health officials has purchased testing kits like BTS sets and other equipments on double rate by false voucher so that they have charged the double rate per unit of blood illegally. Department has supplied free BTS sets to all medicals and blood banks but local health officials have allegedly charged extra Rs 25 towards BTS expense. One poverty stricken woman patient Mrs Swrnalata Sahoo who has been operated her delivery case at a clinic of Jagatsinghpur town has brought five to six units of blood from Cuttack in stead of Jagatsinghpur due to higher rate than Cuttack. Locals have alleged that Jagatsinghpurl blood bank are meaningless for them because a drop of blood is not using for local patients They have also alleged that Red Cross has been donated Rs 10 to 15 lakh on four to five phase for improvement of blood bank but fifty percentage has been misappropriated by corrupt health officials. Contacted, chief district medical officer Mr Manoranjan Das has confessed that four to five units of blood have destroyed every month due to non demand of the local people.