Pune: Unclear terms in tender documents and unanswered clarifications have delayed the inauguration of the low-cost dialysis unit at the Cantonment General Hospital by over four months.The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) had approved the unit late last year. The board procured most of the equipment from a local charitable organisation as part of a donation. Since the PCB lacks the trained staff to run such a unit, it floated tenders to run it in a public-private partnership model.Six rounds of tendering brought up only two bidders, the first of which was disqualified on technical grounds. The PCB was accused of not clarifying terms and conditions in the tenders, such as not specifying the kind of staff required, the protocols involved,etc. It also missed the January 26, 2017 deadline for inauguration of the unit.The latest tender has brought up only one bidder, but officials say the technical bid is still being examined by authorities at the Command Hospital, whose advice is critical to run the health facilities of the cantonment."There are issues regarding the number of staff required for every dialysis machine. The Southern Command medical officers have held multiple meetings with the bidder to clarify certain clauses that they think should be included as part of the terms. The bidder has agreed to these clarifications," said a well-placed source at the PCB.The conditions are still being scrutinized, which implies that there can be no examination of the financial bid."This is a critical procedure, and we need to be satisfied that all conditions to run such a centre is met. Only then can we examine the finances and before opening the unit," a senior PCB official said.

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