Kathmandu. According to the report of the Auditor General, medical equipment worth millions of rupees is lying idle in major health institutions across the country. The Office of the Auditor General has directed to bring the equipment into operation immediately.

The National Trauma Centre has a cathlab machine worth Rs 53.782 crore that has been lying idle since 2072 BS due to lack of skilled manpower. Similarly, CT scan system, 14 ventilators and five C-arm machines worth Rs 247.77 crore have not been used.

Similarly, five lead ECG cables worth Rs 72.60 lakh are lying idle at Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital while X-ray machine, endo-urology set, laparoscopy system, anesthesia machine and electrocardiology equipment worth more than Rs 49 million are lying idle at Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital.

Similarly, 60 different types of medicine production machines are lying idle at the Singha Durbar Baidyakhana Development Committee. Similarly, the CT scan of 16 slices and MRI machine of 1.5 Tesla are also not in operation at the Nepal Police Hospital.

Although the Department of Health Services has spent Rs 67.3 million on the purchase of 965 height boards and 965 electronic weight scales in the current fiscal year, 1,336 weight scales and other equipment worth Rs 65.3 million purchased in the past are lying idle.

Similarly, the teletherapy machine being used at BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital since its establishment has not been out of service for the past four years. Although the life of the radioactive source inside the machine is expiring, the radiation risk remains.

The OFC has directed the Ministry of Health and Population to prepare the details of such equipments across the country, carry out regular monitoring and manage skilled human resources to operate the equipments effectively.