Amravati Government Hospital Patients Forced to Buy Medicines Outside

thenewsdirt
2 days ago
5 min read

In Amravati’s main government hospital, basic medicines have run out. Patients arriving for free treatment are finding that even common drugs like antibiotics and painkillers are unavailable. In many cases, they are being told to return later or to buy needed medicine from private chemists.

The situation has raised alarm across the Vidarbha region, where public health facilities have long struggled with shortages. Relatives of patients say the hospital pharmacy is often empty, forcing them to spend out of pocket for essentials that should be free.

Officials acknowledge the problem and say new supplies are on the way, but for now the gap between policy and reality remains painfully clear to those at the hospital gates.

Shortage of Essential Medicines

A local report in late October 2025 described the medicines stock at Amravati’s Irwin District General Hospital as finished. It noted that even eye-drops and simple tablets had run out, leaving patients to fend for themselves.

Poor patients have to buy medicines, glucose and other necessary supplies from outside.

This was not a sudden one-day shortage but the result of many months of empty shelves. Hospital staff admit that the supply had dwindled to zero for many common items. According to the report, the district surgeon confirmed that emergency orders have been placed and that three to four weeks of supplies were still needed, including essentials like IV fluids and oral glucose. Local press quoted the doctor as saying tenders had been floated and fresh stock should arrive within days.

Independent audits of state-run hospitals show this shortfall is part of a wider pattern. A recent Comptroller and Auditor General report found that even in Amravati, about 11 percent of vital drugs were missing at tested facilities.

That audit covered dozens of hospitals in Maharashtra and found shortages ranging up to half of the expected drugs in some districts. In this context, Amravati’s public hospitals were flagged as having a significant, though comparatively smaller gap in their drug inventories. Observers say such audits have repeatedly shown that centralised procurement delays and stock management problems leave many government wards undersupplied.

Elsewhere in the state, similar scenes are reported. A 2022 newspaper investigation highlighted how government medical colleges and hospitals across rural Vidarbha, including those in Amravati, had run out of many life-saving medications as patient numbers rebounded after the pandemic.

In one illustration, a resident doctor in a neighbouring district said doctors were being forced to ration what little medicine remained, giving it only to emergency cases.

For us, all patients are equal. It is ethically wrong to ration medicines, but due to the situation, we are being forced to provide the limited medicine only to emergency patients and ask others to buy it from outside, the doctor said.

Impact on Patients and Families

For those at Amravati’s hospital, the shortages translate into extra expense and anxiety. One relative waiting in the ward summed up the frustration. "We came expecting free treatment at a government hospital, but had to spend money on medicines from outside. It’s not affordable for everyone."

Patients and their families now have to budget for drugs that should have been provided by the hospital.

In practice, this means visiting a private chemist or pharmacy after every outpatient consultation or before discharge to obtain medicines. People in distant villages say this undercuts the very idea of free public healthcare in rural Vidarbha.

The mood among patients is best described as resigned outrage. A health activist speaking for many who face similar problems captured the sentiment bluntly. Forget free treatment, give us medicines first. He criticised the state for touting healthcare schemes while clinics and hospitals ran out of basic supplies.

A patient at a rural health centre echoed this view. My medication has different compositions. I always have to purchase it from private drug stores. The PHC does not even have basic medicines. Although these comments came from another district, the same issues apply in Amravati. Local families often must borrow money or cut back on other needs in order to buy essential drugs.

For example, a diabetic patient in one report said he now spends Rs 2,000 each month from his own pocket on medicines that the hospital no longer has. Such burdens are deeply unfair to the poor, health advocates say, especially when government hospitals are supposed to offer free treatment to those without means.

Official Response and Procurement

Hospital administrators and state officials say they are aware of the shortages and are taking steps to fix them.

In Amravati, the district surgeon confirmed that emergency purchase orders have been issued to replenish stocks.

He noted that multiple tenders were released locally and that supplies would be arriving soon, with about a month’s worth of critical drugs kept on hand to treat admitted patients. The hospital has allocated funds from the District Planning Committee for the urgent procurement of missing items like glucose and IV fluids. Such funds are meant to help hospitals respond more quickly when central supplies lag.

At the state level, policymakers have cited procurement delays as a root cause of these shortages. In response, the Maharashtra government moved in mid-2025 to loosen the rules.

Hospitals may now directly purchase up to 30 percent of their annual drug budget without waiting for central orders. This decentralisation is intended to prevent situations where patient care is held up by red tape. Officials said local buy-ins and district funds can now be used to stock up on essentials immediately rather than rely solely on a single supplier.

Health officials pointed out that most batches from the new order have since passed quality tests, and they remain hopeful that regular supplies will resume in full.

Still, many patients remain sceptical. They recall other promises of reform that did not trickle down to the pharmacy shelves. Until the promised deliveries actually arrive, the medicine counters stay bare. Some health activists note that policy announcements need time to produce tangible results on the ground.

For now, staff at Amravati’s hospital continue to ration the limited medicines they have while asking others to procure drugs externally.

In the crowded wards and waiting areas of Amravati’s hospital, there is a quiet determination among patients and families. They plan to keep track of supply levels and speak up if shortages persist.

Across Vidarbha, this episode has become a rallying point. It highlights the gap between government policy and everyday reality. Only when those shelves fill with the promised drugs will faith in the system be restored. Meanwhile, for Amravati’s patients, the search for basic medicines continues one prescription at a time.