Daily Times

Joint Investigation team (JIT) on Monday detected severe irregularities in the supply of drugs, medicines, surgical, sundries, X-ray films and chemicals supplied to the Chandka Medical College Hospital.

This was mentioned in a JIT report, after one of the members of the team detected the irregularities and categorically mentioned the same in the inspection report, explains the sources and as per the copy of the inspection report which was sent to dailytimes

The member who represented the Deputy Commissioner, Larkana, wrote her objections in the shape of notes which include that the “Medicine is not labelled with ‘Sindh Government Property’ both inside and outside of the medicine/tablets” Metformin 500 mg quantity of which was 100,000. Similarly she wrote that the shell life of X-Ray film size 08×10 is 57% and ‘Sindh Govt’ is not written on outer packaging. She further wrote that the “urine bags are not labelled with “Sindh Govt Property’ both inside and outside the packaging. In this way she wrote the same notes on 12 more items.

The inspection report contains 45 pages out of which 15 items were without mandatory labelling of “Sindh Government Property ” and packaging of some of the items was also much below standard which is 70% as per rules. Few items were also supplied in part such as Meropenem 500mg, 1gm and Inj Ceftriaxone Sodium 1G (Tuff), the member mentioned in the report. The medicines include Areosortisone Cream 10G, Ta. Losartan Potasium 25mg, Moxifloxacine 505mg/ml, Inj: Albumin Human 25% 50ML, Antihemophilic Factor (Human), Top-T (Roche), Syp: Polybion 60ml Tab: Neurobion, Inj: Cilapen 250mg, Inj: Tanzo 4.5G etc.

These medicines and so forth have been procured through the Central Procurement Committee of the Health Department.

The JIT was headed by the District Health Officer (DHO) Larkana as Chairman and includes CMCH Pharmacist, CMCH Additional Medical Superintendent (Co-Opt Member), Representative of Deputy Commissioner and CMCH Medical Superintendent (MS) as its members.

A senior retired storekeeper requesting anonymity, while talking to the daily times said that such irregularities are clear violation of standing rules and instructions. He said labelling all the drugs and medicines etc as “Govt Property” and “Not For Sale” is a must to stop their resale in the open market and theft from the Wards as these items are only meant for poor patients which were procured out of taxpayer’s hard earned money. He recalled that government medicines were captured by the police recently from different points of Larkana which is why labelling is mandatory.

CMCH incharge storekeeper Arif Abbasi said that we ourselves have written “CMCH” on all the drugs and medicines hence he was of the view that these items will not be resold.

CMCH MS Dr. Abdul Hameed Soomro said that the report does not belong to his period as he was posted as MS on 23rd April. He was informed that you were DHO Larkana hence Chairman of the JIT and then he stopped replying.

The patients and their attendants have demanded a thorough probe into the irregularities so that theft and re-sale of government medicines could be curbed and poor people could be supplied costly medicines free of cost in this massive price-hike era.