Ward Consumption

Overview

Consumption is the ward recording what it actually used. Stock reaches a ward through an indent, and issuing moves it from the Main Store to the ward; consumption is the other end of that chain — the quantity that has been given to patients and will not come back.

Recording a consumption lowers the ward's on-hand figure and, by the same amount, the hospital total. The Main Store's balance does not change: the stock had already left it when it was issued. Nothing in the accounts moves — a consumption is a stock document posted at zero amount.

You cannot edit a consumption. If an entry is wrong, cancel it (which restores the ward's stock) and record the correct one. The cancelled entry stays in the list with its reason.

Consumption is what the ward used. Stock it never used and wants to send back goes the other way, as a return.

Prerequisites

• The ward exists, is a Ward type store, and is active.
• You are named as that ward's in-charge in Store Master (or you are an admin or director).
• The item is hospital stock — it has a purchase price or has been received. A billed service such as Bed Charge or OPD Consultation is a charge, not stock, and cannot be consumed.

The item does not have to be in stock at the ward to be recorded. Consumption of something the ward was never issued is allowed, and the screen warns you — that is usually a sign an issue is missing.

Workflow

Where to find it

Open Modules → Store and click Consumption, or use the Consumption link on the Store dashboard.

The list opens on the last seven days, newest first:

Use From and To to change the dates and Ward to narrow to one store. The list shows at most 500 entries; when there are more it says so above the table — narrow the dates to see the rest.

Record a consumption

1. Click Record consumption. The button appears only when you run at least one ward.
2. Pick the Ward that used the stock. If you run one ward it is already chosen.
3. Set the Date — today by default. It cannot be in the future or before the oldest allowed day (see the window below).
4. Search for an item under Add an item and pick it. The picker lists every hospital stock item, each with what the ward currently holds.
5. Type the quantity used. Add as many items as the ward used, up to 200 lines.
6. Add Remarks if they help explain the entry.
7. Click Record consumption.

The entry is created as Posted and the ward's on-hand figure drops immediately.

If two lines name the same item, the quantities are added into one line — five plus three is recorded as eight.

The date window

A consumption may be dated today or up to three days back. This is an IST calendar day, so it follows hospital time rather than UTC: an entry typed just after midnight is dated the day that has just started, not the one before.

The window exists because consumption is often written up a day or two after the fact, but rewriting an old month's stock from this screen would hide the difference between what happened and what is being typed now. When the usage is older than that, correct the ward's shelf with Set Stock instead.

The window is a system setting (STORE_CONSUMPTION_BACKDATE_DAYS), three days unless changed, and never more than 30.

When the entry leaves the shelf short

If the quantity on a line is more than the ward's recorded stock, the line turns red and says so:

Recorded stock is 2; this leaves −3. An issue may be missing.

This never blocks the save. A ward may genuinely hold stock that has not been issued to it on paper yet, or an issue may simply be late. Record what was used; the shortfall shows as a negative on the ward until the issue or a correction is booked. The warning is there so a data-entry slip — a wrong item, an extra zero — is caught before it is saved.

Cancel a wrong entry

A posted consumption can be cancelled, which reverses it: the ward's stock goes back up by exactly what the entry took out.

1. Click Cancel on the row.
2. Type a reason — it is required.
3. Click Cancel consumption.

The entry stays in the list, marked Cancelled with the reason, so the corrected entry beside it reads as what actually happened. Record the right entry afterwards.

Who may cancel, and for how long:

• The ward's in-charge may cancel an entry only while its date is still inside the date window.
• An admin or director may cancel any posted entry at any time.
• Nothing that has been cancelled can be cancelled again, and a consumption is never edited.

Who can do what

The Main Store's in-charge sees every ward's consumption but cannot record or cancel it — consumption belongs to the ward that holds the stock. Changing who runs a ward does not rewrite history: the new in-charge can correct the ward's recent entries.

Common Issues

"Consumption is recorded against a ward." You picked the Main Store, or a store that is not a ward. Consumption is always against the ward holding the stock.

"That store is inactive." The ward has been deactivated. Reactivate it in Store Master first.

"You are not the in-charge of this store." Ask an administrator to name you as that ward's in-charge in Store Master, or use an admin or director account.

"Consumption cannot be dated in the future." Pick today or earlier.

"Consumption can be recorded up to 3 days back." The date is older than the window. For usage further back, adjust the ward's shelf with Set Stock.

"… is not a hospital-store item." The item belongs to another category, such as Pharmacy. Only hospital stock is recorded here.

"… cannot hold stock, so it cannot be consumed." The item is a billed service — no purchase price and never received. A charge cannot be consumed.

"You can no longer cancel this consumption." The entry's date has left the window and you are not an admin or director. Ask an administrator to cancel it.

The Cancel button is missing on an entry. You are not the in-charge of that ward, or the entry is older than the window. Cancelling the latest seven days is the usual case; older entries need an admin.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between issuing and consuming? A: Issuing moves stock from the Main Store to the ward. Consuming records that the ward used it. Both lower a stock figure, but at different stores — issuing leaves the hospital total unchanged, while consumption lowers it by what was used.

Q: Why does a consumption lower the hospital total as well as the ward's? A: The stock is gone — it was given to a patient. The ward's count and the hospital's count both fall by that quantity; the Main Store's own balance is untouched because the goods had already left it.

Q: Can I record usage for an item the ward was never issued? A: Yes, and the screen warns you in red. That is often the right thing to do when an issue is behind; the ward reads negative until the issue or a correction is booked. If the warning is a surprise, check that you picked the right item and quantity.

Q: How much back can I date an entry? A: Today or up to three days back, by IST calendar day. The limit is a system setting and never more than 30 days. For older usage, correct the shelf with Set Stock.

Q: Can I edit a consumption instead of cancelling it? A: No. Consumption is append-only: cancel the wrong entry with a reason, then record the correct one. The cancelled entry stays in the list, so the trail shows both.

Q: Does cancelling a consumption move stock back to the Main Store? A: No. It restores the ward's own shelf — the quantity that was deducted comes back. The stock was issued to the ward long before; cancelling the usage entry only says the ward did not use it after all. To actually send stock back to the Main Store, raise a return.

Q: Does recording consumption affect open indents or reservations? A: No. An indent reserves stock at the Main Store; consumption records what a ward used. The two are separate, and neither changes the other.

Q: Do consumptions appear in the accounts? A: No. Like indents and issues they are stock documents only — posted at zero amount, with no ledger balance changed.

Q: Who sees a ward's consumption? A: Anyone who can open the Store module and may see that store. A ward's in-charge records and cancels its own ward's entries; the Main Store's in-charge can read every ward's but cannot record against them.