Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Oct 9: The Union Health Ministry’s BEMMP Model has brought a massive revolution in the J&K’s Healthcare sector as Biomedical equipment’s maintenance/repair and management in most of the urban, sub- urban and rural hospitals is now being done in just 24 hours to maximum 72 hours, providing a great relief to over 1.30 crore population of the Union Territory.
Official sources told the ‘Excelsior’ that by replacing the old system of keeping patients to wait for the repair of a biomedical equipment like– Ultra Sound, CT Scan, ECG, X-Ray machine etc. for weeks and months in government hospitals at district, sub district and Primary Health Centres level, the Government has adopted the National Programme for Biomedical Equipment Management and Maintenance (BEMMP) in J&K, providing a great relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in improving healthcare.
“The success of this BEMMP model of the National Health Mission under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in Jammu and Kashmir serves as an inspirational move for other states as well to adopt. It showcases how a well-planned, technology-driven initiative can transform healthcare delivery and bridge the gap between available resources and the actual needs of the healthcare sector,” the sources added.
Mission Director, National Health Mission, J&K, Nazim Zai Khan when contacted said that BEMMP is emerging as a model of excellence in Jammu and Kashmir, setting a benchmark for efficient healthcare services through stringent monitoring and operational practices. He said the programme has revolutionized the maintenance and management of biomedical equipment’s in all government healthcare facilities across J&K, ensuring the availability of almost all times functional medical devices and significantly reducing its downtime.
The programme was adopted during Covid period as trial but remained most successful. The Government infact, has outsourced the maintenance/repair work of the medical equipments in the hospitals. The engineers of a Hyderabad based company with whom the Government has contract agreement, are called for any repair of a machine/ equipment in a particular hospital. They have to respond to the call within 24 hours and maximum 72 hours. There is provision of penalty as well if they fail to repair a machine or replace it within seven days, which has brought significance improvement in the system. Today, we hardly have any pending complaint from any hospital in the Jammu and Kashmir with regard to defunct machine/ equipment. Even the old defunct machines lying in various hospitals were also made functional with this new model of the Union Health Ministry, he added.
Director, Family Welfare J&K, Dr Tajamul Hussain Khan said that introduced to address the challenges faced in maintaining high-value biomedical equipment in Government hospitals, the programme is designed to support public healthcare institutions with the upkeep and calibration of devices such as ventilators, defibrillators, diagnostic machines, and life-saving monitoring equipments. The initiative is pivotal in optimizing healthcare infrastructure and providing uninterrupted services to the patients of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sharing his experience as Medical Superintendent at a hospital in North Kashmir, Dr Tazamul said for the repair of a CT Scan they had to call engineer of a servicing company and in the process they took over a week and then even the machine could not be made functional. They had to replace some parts and this process took over one month and patients had to suffer. Today, that problem is gone with this new model. “Either company has to give replacement or face a penalty, if they fail to repair a machine within seven days,” Director Family Welfare disclosed.
Director Health Services Jammu, Dr Rakesh Magotra, said that as compared to old system, this new model of BEMMP is much better. Justifying his point, the Director said today he hardly has any complaint from any of his District or Sub District hospital besides PHCs in Jammu division about out of order medical equipment/ diagnostic machines. He said for replacement of parts it may take few days or maximum a week but for the repair of machine on the spot, the Company engineers hardly take the 24 to 48 hours. The headache of the HoDs/ Medical Superintendents or the CMOs/ BMOs to run after the service engineers has gone. They now can focus more on their primary task to attend and treat patients. Dr Magotra said he is more satisfied with this new model of Government and it has even minimised the maintenance cost as well, saving public money.
Principal, GMC Kathua, Dr Surinder Atri apprised that this programme enlists a network of skilled biomedical engineers who are stationed across various districts and newly established GMCs. They are equipped to handle on-site repairs. He said they have provided a Toll free number. One person is assigned the task to register a complaint if any and the equipment like Ventilator, X-Ray machine, Ultra Sound, ECG, CT Scan or any Lab equipment is repaired within 24 to maximum 72 hours. The public complaints with regard to defunct biomedical equipment machines have also reduced to almost zero, Dr Attri revealed.
Chief Medical Officer Jammu, Dr Harbaksh Singh and CMO Rajouri, Dr M L Rana conveyed their satisfaction and expressed that the initiative has led to an over 90- 95 % reduction in equipment downtime, enabling healthcare facilities to deliver uninterrupted services. They expressed that the implementation of the programme has drastically cut down the costs associated with equipment repairs and replacements.
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