In the wake of multiple deaths being reported allegedly due to issues in the quality of the drugs used in certain hospitals, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) called for a detailed report from the relevant hospitals in which the incidents occurred and urged the Ministry of Health and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to issue a clarification on the same as soon as possible.
Most recently, a young woman admitted to the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital on Wednesday (12) with a complaint of abdominal pain died after being given two injections. The victim, 21, was a resident of Poththapitiya in Kadugannawa.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (13), GMOA Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that they have requested the administration of the hospital to provide a detailed report on the said incident. He also said that it is still premature to comment on the reason for the death. “According to the details provided by the hospital, the young lady was hospitalised with a complaint of abdominal pain and has been given the required treatments by the doctors. She had been given two injections. It is reported that the lady experienced severe pain following those injections,” he said. Wijesinghe also said that it is still a question as to whether this death was caused by the injections or some other allergy as a result of the disease she was suffering from, adding however that it is mostly believed that the death was caused by the injections. He claimed that with this incident being the most recent in a series of such incidents, doctors and hospital administrations have had to face numerous difficulties due to the lack of responsibility from the NMRA and the Ministry. He noted that the Ministry is required to make an immediate statement regarding the reported cases or launch a proper probe into the incidents. He said that these recent events have caused public fear regarding the use of medicines issued by hospitals and that such could lead to public aggression against health authorities.
Earlier, the eyesight of 10 individuals who underwent eye surgeries at the Nuwara Eliya District General Hospital had been weakened due to the presence of germs in a medication imported from India, resulting in the Ministry halting the use of the drug.
Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella, Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, and NMRA officials were unreachable when they were contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday.