KARACHI, April 14: While the Sindh health department is yet to decide the fate of over 70 ambulances purchased in excess to the budgetary allocations, certain NGOs and political quarters are making efforts to get the same.

An amount of Rs60 million had been allocated in the provincial budget 2004-2005 for the procurement of the vehicles.

Some of the interested quarters have already started approaching the high-ups seeking transfer of a couple of the ambulances for their respective localities, according to a source privy to procurement affair who stressed that a policy in regard to the appropriate utilization of the ambulances should be framed at the earliest to ensure the proper and just use of the public funds.

The government had allocated the huge amount, which includes Rs34.4 million from the ADP, for the procurement of 16 standard (big size) ambulances for major government hospitals in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Larkana, Naushahro Feroz and Sukkur. Besides, 16 small size (hi-roof) ambulances were to be purchased for sanatoriums, taluka hospitals, rural health centres and other health facilities.

However, at some later stage, the provincial health department made changes in the scheme, under directives of the people at the helm of the affairs, and decided not to purchase big size ambulances and go for the smaller ones.

Under the revised strategy, the department started working on the procurement of 101 small ambulances and 10 big pick-ups with the allocated funds. The process of changing the plan also consumed considerable time in getting the things cleared from the finance and other departments, a source said.

Some six months back, an order was placed with some car dealers for the supply of a total of 111 vehicles, excluding the accessories and fittings required for patients and other medical purposes, without indulging in the tendering formalities.

The rates almost matched to that of the factory, while on the other hand an amount of Rs10 million was separated from the original fund of Rs60 million so that hospital fittings could be fixed as soon as the vehicles were made available to health department, said a health official.

When contacted, Additional Health Secretary Dr Shafqat Ali Abbasi said that the vehicles had been received in batches over the last two months or so, and now the department was in the process of equipping them according to the requirements of hospitals and patients.

It is hoped that conversion of the vehicles into ambulances will be completed by the end of May, following which the hospitals which are already enlisted in the budget documents would be provided with the ambulances.

In reply to a question, he said it was likely that 78 small size ambulances would have to be kept parked for some time as the health department was yet to select the hospitals and health care centres in the government sector which deserved to be provided the vehicles.

He maintained that the procurement of big ambulance was differed as the high ups believed that maintenance and repairing of big vehicles would involve large amounts whereas availability of spare parts could also be a problem.

About the surplus vehicles, a senior official agreed that the hospitals which were to get a big ambulance should be given more than one small ambulance as they were the original parties to be benefited.

Besides, one ambulance each could be given to all the functional district and taluka hospitals, he added.