A 24/7 Corona fighter Alok Ranjan earns kudos!

Jaipur: As the corona cases wane across the state, black fungus is rearing it’s head and the state machinery under the visionary leadership of Gehlot is trying to ensure that the medical supplies reach the needy. 

Under an overall supervision of Corona ‘concerned’ Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy and Health Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma and ACS Health Akhil Arora (Gehlot’s new discovery in state administration) the Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation, with Chairman Siddharth Mahajan and MD Alok Ranjan is working pro-actively and swiftly round-the-clock to ensure the same.  

In an exclusive interview to First India, the main ‘operational architect’ and MD of RMSCL Alok Ranjan said that very soon the shortage of injection Amphotericin B used to treat mucormycosis will be over in the state.

“As of now the state is dependent on imports for the injection and accordingly had also floated global tender and initiated dialogue with 10 to 12 nations to overcome the issue but we cannot import it directly, so now orders have been given for 35,000 injections to the vendors,” he informed.

Ranjan added that the state has received 12,000 injections till date from the Centre and with local companies coming forward for production, hopefully the shortage will be over within a week. 

RMSCL had worked round the clock to procure Remdisivir injections also during the peak, ensuring that even private hospitals did not face a crunch. In the second wave, 2.45 lakh injections were procured and the quota was also increased after the constant efforts of the government. 

Under the directions of Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma, RMSCL is procuring advance medicines as per predictions about corona wave.

Recently procurement process was started for 5,000 tablets and 2,000 injections of Posaconazole. New investigational drugs such as virafin (2000 Qty.), antibody cocktail Casirivimab and Imdevimab (1000 Qty.) and 2-Deoxy D Glucose (2DG) Sachets (10,000 Qty.) have also been purchased as per the recommendations of the committee of specialist physicians.

Ranjan informed that they have already geared up for the expected Third wave which might affect children and required tenders are already in the pipeline.

What has really worked in ensuring smooth functioning is that Alok Ranjan kept communication channels open with the top brass of major drug manufacturers on a daily basis, followed up with their logistics teams round the clock so as to take care of the supply side.

During the second wave, RMSCL office and its 40 warehouses operated nearly in 24x7 mode to ensure seamless and effective delivery of medicines. All of this resulted in a continuous flow of various lifesaving drugs and equipments even when lockdown was in force and when the demand was at its peak.

RMSCL also developed an efficient mechanism of rationing and monitoring the consumption through its e-aushadhi software. At the same time, it developed alternate channels of drug distribution to all major private hospitals via decentralized system of distribution by involving District Collectors and committees of specialist doctors at district level.

Team RMSCL also through its internal logistic team kept on looking for various alternate medications. Oxygen concentrators were the other major item procured in huge numbers to address the shortage of medical oxygen requirements of Covid patients.

RMSCL is now focusing on fulfilling the mandate of CM Gehlot to equip all PHCs and CHCs with a minimum of 5 oxygen concentrators. 

Needless to say, the crisis faced by the state in the last two months could have turned for the worse had it not been for the tireless efforts of the team RMSCL headed by the MD Alok Ranjan.