Doctors’ Union calls for full probe into drug scandal under ex-health minister

Colombo, June 23 (Daily Mirror) - The Doctors' Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights is calling for a full investigation into all officials involved in the substandard drug scandal that happened during the time of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

Its Chairman, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the investigation should not only focus on the former minister but also on other important officials. These include blood bank officers who allegedly sold blood to make low-quality medicines, officers who approved suspicious drug purchases despite clear problems in the documents, and former chairmen of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC).

Dr. Sanjeewa also asked the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to expand its probe to include officials from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), who he claims gave out medicines without proper testing. He also blamed the Director General of Health Services for skipping important meetings where drug import decisions were made against the rules.

He said that the public has not only suffered a big financial loss but also lost trust in the health system. “All those who were part of this wrongdoing must be investigated,” he said.

In court, the Attorney General said that the substandard drugs contained harmful bacteria and unclean saline, raising serious questions about how the system is being managed. The AG also noted that the job of regulating drugs belongs to senior Health Ministry officials, not his department.

It was also revealed that the Health Ministry did not issue certificates to confirm that the drugs met World Health Organization (WHO) standards, putting the quality of many drugs in state hospitals into question.

Dr. Sanjeewa said he is ready to help set up a lab in Sri Lanka that meets WHO standards to test imported medicines. He asked the President to get personally involved in the issue.

He warned that patients with serious illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and infections could die if drug quality is not properly checked. He also said that the system for testing medicines before, during, and after use required by the NMRA Act has broken down.

“If the right steps were taken, this scam with bad drugs wouldn’t have happened. This is not a small issue. It’s about people’s lives,” he said.