The head of cardiology department at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) has been accused of conniving with a private vendor and selling stents and pacemakers at a very high cost.

A statement issued by the institute’s public relations officer Dr K.K. Pandita on Wednesday, said the head of cardiology department, Dr Animesh Mishra, also refused to cooperate with the administration to make treatment to poorer patients affordable.

“Two complaints from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Union ministry of health and family welfare, forwarded to the institute, said cardiology patients have to purchase expensive stents from local vendors to get treatment at NEIGRIHMS,” it said.

A committee was formed by the institute’s director to get the requirements from various departments so that the stents/pacemakers and others could be made available through revolving fund or Amrit pharmacy. “But the list could not be finalised owing to Dr Mishra’s lack of co-operation,” the statement added.

Recently, an advisory by the health ministry was displayed in the OPD to inform patients to get the costly items from Amrit pharmacy rather than from outside vendors at a higher cost.

Amrit pharmacy has assured that it would make the costly items available to patients within 48 hours, if unavailable in the store.

An official from the health ministry recently forwarded a letter from a parliamentary committee where it was pointed out that if in autonomous institutions, patients buy costly items from private vendors and the administrations of these institutions are unable to curtail the price, then they are a part of an illegal practice.

“The NEIGRIHMS administration has been for the past two years seeking co-operation from Dr Mishra to solve the problem of patients but the department continued to make patients purchase costly stents and pacemakers from a vendor (Sanjo Medical) outside the hospital,” the statement said.

It was alleged that the vendor in connivance with Dr Mishra used to get stents in the morning to the institute’s cath lab and sell them to patients at a very high cost, despite the capping of rates by the ministry.

On Tuesday, while taking rounds at the hospital, the institute’s director found the vendor carrying four bags full of stents/pacemakers heading towards the lab. “When intercepted by the security, the matter was referred to the chief security officer and the chief vigilance officer, who took serious cognisance of illegal trade in the hospital,” the statement added.

Dr Mishra was not available for comment.