JVP and govt. trade charges on public health

Substandard medical supply report handed over

The JVP yesterday charged that the government was shirking its responsibility to provide quality medical care to Sri Lankans and demanded that strong action be taken against errant companies that supply sub-standard medicine.
Speaking in parliament yesterday JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake insisted that the medical debacles that have been highlighted over the past few weeks were directly the responsibility of the government and that they could not dismiss it by blaming various companies. He noted that the Rubella vaccination incidents in particular were detrimental to national health and that the Ministry had done little to vindicate itself.
In response Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva insisted that such a charge was totally untrue and baseless. “I will present to parliament the reports submitted by the investigative committees that looked into the previous Rubella deaths to prove that it was an allergic reaction that caused the deaths and it was not the fault of the Ministry,” he said.
Referring to the report on the inquiry into the manufacture of the injection phials and saline bottles containing pieces of glass and plastic, Minister de Silva emphasized that he was yet to receive it and would take action accordingly.
The report was handed over to Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Athula Kahadaliyanage by the Director of the National Drug and Cosmetic Devices Authority Dr. Hemantha Benaragama on Tuesday. It is considered to be an important report as it would not only deal with the submissions of the four drug companies present at the inquiry but also on those two companies who were represented by their local agents.
Glass and plastic were discovered in unopened vials of injections and saline at the Ratnapura, Elpitiya and Embilipitiya hospitals. Several more substandard drugs were uncovered during the last few days triggering a pledge from the Health Ministry to blacklist companies that are charged with importing substandard medical supplies.