Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently struggling to find contractors to operate 153 ICU beds across its 12 suburban hospitals. Due to the lack of bidders, the civic body has had to extend the tender deadline four times.
The main reason cited for contractors’ reluctance is the steep rise in penalty clauses introduced in the tender, where the penalty amount has been increased by 100 times.
Tender Extensions Due to Low Interest
BMC has decided to outsource the management of 153 ICU beds in its 12 suburban hospitals to private operators. Accordingly, a tender was issued on July 25. In the first round, only one company showed interest. Since there was just one bidder, BMC extended the deadline. However, no further interest was shown by contractors, forcing the civic body to extend the tender date four times within just two months.
Penalty Amounts Hiked Significantly
In the new tender, the BMC has increased the penalty amount by 100 percent. Earlier, if a doctor was absent in a shift, the contractor not only faced salary deductions but also had to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. Now, the fine has been raised to Rs 10,000 per shift. If the same mistake occurs more than 10 times, the penalty will further increase to Rs 1 lakh per shift.
ICU Operating Costs and Contract Details
Under a two-year contract, the BMC plans to spend Rs 3,367 per ICU bed per day. For operating 153 ICU beds in 12 suburban hospitals with the help of specialists, the administration will incur a total expenditure of Rs 33 crore 5 lakh 5 thousand 200.
Hospitals Temporarily Managing ICUs Themselves
Earlier, the Health Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) instructed four peripheral hospitals to manage their Medical Intensive Care Units (MICU) and Surgical Intensive Care Units (SICU) with internal resources after the outsourcing contract expired on August 30, despite being granted an extension.
A senior health department official confirmed that the ICU beds reserved at these hospitals will now be operated by the hospital staff themselves.
Temporary Measures Until New Contractors Are Appointed
According to a senior civic official, this is only a temporary measure, as the process of appointing a new contractor is expected to be completed within the next one to two months.
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Health Experts Question Need for Outsourcing
However, several health experts, including doctors from BMC-run hospitals, have questioned the need for outsourcing ICU services altogether.
“For the last two weeks, hospitals have been managing ICU beds with their own resources. This can continue, and there is no real need to outsource them,” said a doctor on condition of anonymity.
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