With no regular patients in Bengal’s hospitals, piles of medicines likely to expire in June

Several medicines and medicines that have been bought and saved in state-run hospitals and rural well being centres to deal with common sufferers at the moment are mendacity unutilized and are nearing their expiry dates. The motive being due to the lockdown hardly any sufferers are turning up for remedy in hospitals.

District hospitals have alerted the state well being division that until these medicine are utilized they may expire and this is able to result in lack of authorities property.

“Due to the lockdown for prevention of Covid-19 cases, general patient flow of different disciplines decreased remarkably. For this reason the outflow of the following medicines has decreased. At present the following medicines are lying in the store as slow moving items which may not be consumed within their potency period,” mentioned a letter despatched by the Asansol district hospital in West Burdwan.

The listing consists of ampules, vials, tablets and tubes of varied sorts of injections, drops and lotions wanted to deal with sufferers affected by cardiac arrest, malaria, labour ache and peptic ulcers. There are additionally antibiotics, anesthesia and eye-drops. The inventory of some medicine like dobutamine and dobramycin are alleged to expire in June 2020.

In one other letter, accessed by HT, the superintendent of the state-run Gangarampur subvisional hospital in South Dinajpur district has alerted this might result in lack of authorities property.

“Will be highly obliged if you take necessary action so that the medicines can be utilized to avoid loss of government property,” the letter despatched on April 27 said.

Similarly, a number of medicines on the Habra state normal hospital in North 24 Parganas are additionally nearing their expiry dates, a letter accessed by HT mentioned.

Chandrima Bhattacharya, minister of state for well being in West Bengal, mentioned: “I am not aware. Please contact the health department.” Senior officers of the division, nevertheless, remained tightlipped and mentioned solely the minister can remark.

Meanwhile, with allegations surfacing that there’s a scarcity of PPE kits, masks and gloves because of which a number of medical doctors and different frontline medical employees have been contaminated with the virus, the state authorities has began procuring such objects from the small and medium scale industries. A committee has additionally been shaped to hurry up the procurement.

The state has ordered round 16.5 lakh PPEs out of which until May 12 it has acquired 7.four lakh. Another 9 lakh is pending. Around 32.5 lakh masks (N95 and FFP2) have been ordered out of which solely round 3.6 lakh have been acquired until date.

“Usually it is the West Bengal Medical Services Corporation Limited which goes for bulk purchases of medicines and medical equipment. But because of the crisis a special committee has been formed to speed up the procurement process. A helpline has also been launched where frontline medical staff can place their demands,” mentioned a senior official of the state well being division.