The rapid rise in COVID-19 cases across the country coupled with a shortag,e of protective gear for the medical community and relief workers, has created a small boom on the supply side—unfortunately not always with great results.
The biggest shortage is of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and high-quality masks (commonly known as N95 mask that 3M makes).
While existing manufacturers have ramped up production to meet demand, a set of new manufacturers have jumped in to help mitigate shortage.
The problem is with the cottage industries that have sprung up by slapping togther various components such as gloves, foot covers, eyeglasses while the protective suit itself is stiched in strange shapes and with non-standard material.
Since these are offered at prices as low at Rs350+, we are also seeing a rush among well-intentioned donors, who do not seem to be checking for certification and quality – especially when they are being supplied to hospitals for use by medical professionals
The poor-quality PPE suits are also coming in from China. According to a report, 170,000 PPE kits that arrived in India on 5th April, about 50,000 failed quality tests.
Fortunately, the Union health ministry however has issued specific
guidelines to stipulate which materials constitute a PPE. These include items like head gear, goggles, face-shield, mask, gloves, gown and shoe-cover made from specified materials.
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In order to fight this issue of 'fake' PPEs, Maharashtra had recently announced that PPE kits and N-95 masks made by private firms cannot be sold unless certified by the State-run Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals Corporation.
While the state has justified this as a means to check the quality of masks and other essentials, manufacturers, hospitals as well as donor organisations lost a precious week over the confusion caused and the process.
The Mumbai municipal corporation has now taken charge of quality checks and approving what goes out to hospitals, says a doctor from one of Mumbai’s leading government hospitals who is deeply involved in coordinating supplies for the hospital.
He says, on one particular day, 63 samples were submitted and more than half were rejected.
Meanwhile high quality products are indeed available, but the price of PPEs has been as high as Rs1500 to Rs2500, while the asking rate for N95 masks was anywhere from Rs210 for bulk orders to Rs395 at the retail level.
Moneylife Foundation, which has been donating N95 masks had also purchased them as high as Rs175, before being able to connect with
Venus Safety and Health, a Taloja-based company that has been producing a wide range of masks and other medical safety equipment of high quality. Venus is now hugely over-booked with large chunks of its production being cranked out for government hospitals, but has been selling at less than a third of the price of our initial purchase.
Interestingly, sources connected with the company point out that they are finally getting due recognition for their products and quality. Until recently, when cheap imports from China were available in plenty, neither doctors nor hospitals wanted to pay attention to a local manufacturer, even though their products were equally good.
Moneylife Foundation had a similar experience with Paras Trading Corporation which is being run by the Jhaveri family, operating out of TTC Industrial area at Pawne, Navi Mumbai. We zeroed in on it as one of the first PPE manufacturers to be cleared by Haffkine and one that was offering fair price and quick delivery. Since our supplies are for medical professionals, there was always a concern about quality, given the range of safety equipment being bombarded by a wide spectrum of suppliers – from the most dubious to very expensive.
In the circumstances, it was gratifying for us to receive a call from a leading Mumbai hospital to say they were very happy with the products supplied and wanted to contact the company to place a direct order.
The Foundation’s experience with protective face shields for medical professionals has been equally onerous. In late March and early April, when the need for protective gear as well as shortages were at their peak, we have bought face shields at as much as Rs175 plus GST. As more manufacturers jumped into the fray and began 3-D printing of face-shields, prices have dropped to a third. And even less for really big bulk purchases.
The Corona pandemic has truly been a big boom opportunity for some business and many have not hesitated to take full advantage of the panic and the shortages. Sadly enough, this is at the cost of donor organisations that have garnered public funds to help protect our medical warriors.
But it is now time to step back and take stock –in the week of April 20, the larger government hospitals as well as designated COVID hospitals, we learn, have finally begun to receive government and supplies of protective gear. It may not meet 100% of what medical workers and doctors would want, but the acute shortage and panic has eased.
However, the situation remains dire for smaller, peripheral hospitals including maternity hospitals are in danger of becoming the next hot spot, since patients affected by community spread of the virus walk in there.
