Health dept asked to explain use of drugs without tests in hospitals in Bhopal

A communique sent to the MP health department has sought explanation from it regarding "irregular use of drugs" and "use of substandard medicines" in health institutions of the state government.

Updated on: Sep 22, 2014, 15:48:15 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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A communique from the office of the principal accountant general (general and social sector audit) Madhya Pradesh to the state health department has sought explanation from the health department regarding "irregular use of drugs" worth Rs 28. 7 crore without testing and "use of substandard medicines" amounting to Rs 69.6 lakh in the health institutions of the state government.

The letter which was accessed by HT shows that the communiqué was sent to the department in May 2014 and reply had been sought within a month.

The letter highlights the irregularities with regard to officials not following the drug policy. It states, the "non-observance of the provisions of drug policy resulted in non-testing of drugs purchased from Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation (TNMSC)and through local purchases and issue of substandard medicines involved in 45 samples to the patients, which may cause heavy health consequences on human beings." The communique in its conclusion stresses that all this "resulted in financial benefits to drug supplying firms as neither the cost of medicines were recovered from them nor any action for blacklisting these firms was taken."

The office of the principal accountant general MP found during the audit of the office of the chief medical and health officers/civil surgeons/hospital superintendents the cases of deviation from testing of drugs (use of drugs without getting them tested from the accredited labs/government lab) were pointed out.

To assess the impact of the non-testing of drugs, the office of the Principal accountant general MP obtained the information of failed samples in drug sample tested from 2010-2013 from controller food and drugs.

"On cross verification of 45 drug testing records of the deputy director food and drug administration with the records of the drugs purchased by CMHO/CS/HS revealed that during 2010-13 medicines worth Rs 18 lakh supplied by TNMSC were not found to be of standard quality in 28 samples. It was also observed from the records made available to Audit that out of 28 samples, 8 samples were got tested and found to be of standard quality as per the testing record of the accredited lab. Our further scrutiny revealed that these drugs were issued to the patients resulting in the supply of substandard medicines by government hospitals/dispensaries to the poor patients," the latter states.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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