More than a year ago, a big fake drugs scandal was discovered in Government hospitals in Kashmir. We highlighted the case in an editorial and write ups after which Health and Medical Education Department, Jammu, also took steps to ensure that spurious drugs menace was not spread in Jammu region. It is generally believed that supply of drugs to the hospitals by private supplies is at the root of the menace of supplying fake drugs manufactured by unregistered producing units. The price of drugs has shot upwards manifold in recent years and the clandestine firms producing fake drugs are making handsome profits out of a dishonest game.
Samples of a number of drugs were picked up at random by the functionaries of State Vigilance Organization and sent for testing at The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Five drugs have been reported by the laboratory as sub-standard and hence injurious to human health. The Department of Indian System of Medicine has procured and supplied these drugs to the State Government hospitals. The report has mentioned these five drugs according to their recognized nomenclature. The quantity of drugs supplied by the ISM is worth crores of rupees. The drugs are sub-standard and will not be administered to the patients as it carries immense health hazard. Most of these drugs are infested with fungus that is injurious to human health. The samples of these five and ten more drugs were picked up by the Vigilance Organization functionaries last year in September and ever since the case has been running with many turns and twists. The samples taken at random where collated from dispensaries in three districts in the Jammu region and these are the districts of Kathua, Samba and Jammu. After receiving the report, the J&K Government informed the Department of ISM about the contents of the NABL report. Actually, the ISM is directly procuring medicines worth across of rupees from the market bypassing Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited.
At the time when Vigilance is investigating the spurious and sub-standard drugs, it is strange that the Minister for Health says he has not received any report like that so far. At the same time Secretary/ Commissioner has given permission vide Government order of 27 November 2016 to the DG ISM to procure medicine directly from market till March 2017.
This is somewhat bizarre a story in which one finds many intricacies. Sometimes it appears that deliberately attempts are made to scuttle the purchase and supply of drugs by the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd. It is also suspected that the Director of ISM has been manipulating things since drugs to the tune of 9 crore rupees have to be purchased for the remaining part of the financial year. We think that the Government should order a thorough probing into this case because the Directorate of ISM comes under focus every time when we try to rebuild the story. The most important part of the narrative is that sub standard medicine is being supplied to the patients and it is bound to make their health problem more complicated. For this reason it becomes unavoidable to hold probing in the entire affairs of purchase and distribution of drugs by ISM.
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