80pc of GCC purchase of medical supplies unified

“Unifying our purchase of medical requirements and pharmaceutical products guarantees quality and cost-effective supply to government health institutions in the member-states,” said Dr Mona Rashid Al Mansoori, Medical Requirements Supervisor at Medical Stores Department at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the GCC Committee on Group Purchase at the Executive Office for GCC Health Ministers Council meeting held on December 12, Dr Mona lauded the collective purchase programme in the six Gulf states bloc.

“From 2008, we will include medical devices and requirements needed for open heart surgery and x-rays diagnosis in our joint purchase programme,” she said.

“Buying unified products guarantee the quality of these products and ensure their availability in the member-states at reasonable prices. It also enhances post-purchase inspection to detect defaults in the bought product in the best interests of patients,” said Dr Mona. The two-day Gulf meeting started yesterday with the participation of the six member-states to discuss ways and means of buying the best products through the GCC Group Purchase policy. Member-states delegates will evaluate this time the medical requirements needed for hospitals and dental clinics. “We have decided to follow certain criteria and standards in selecting which companies are qualified to get Gulf tenders. Field visits will be conducted by our inspection teams to assess the manufacturing quality of competing companies,” said Dr Mona.

The AGCC Group Purchase Programme was initiated to ensure availability of quality medical requirements and drugs in the member-states at reasonable costs.