Ninety-three government-run blood banks in Maharashtra have been fined a total of INR 12,72,000 for failing to update their daily blood stock on the MahaSBTC and e-raktkosh portals between December 2022 and April 2023.
This information came to light through a Right To Information (RTI) request by Activist Chetan Kothari. Kothari sought details on fines levied against blood banks over the previous five months. The RTI revealed that the blood banks operated by RN Cooper were the most penalised for violating the rules. Out of 121 days, the bank updated its stock on e-raktkosh for 25 days only.
The number of instances where the daily stock on e-raktkosh was not updated varied each month. There were eleven instances in December 2022, 22 in January 2023, six in February, 27 in March, and 30 in April.
According to the GR issued by the public health department on December 2, the banks would be fined five times the additional processing cost if they charged processing fees exceeding the limits set by the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC).
The government established the website for people to know about the availability of blood. Here, blood banks from every state are required to post stock details. The main goal is to enable patients to search online for available blood anytime they need it.
The State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) mandates that every commercial and public blood bank in the state must submit their stock every day. A blood bank is fined INR 1,000 every day for failing to submit its supply.
Share
Tweet
