wah cantt - In a major action against violation of Drugs Act and Punjab Public Healthcare Commission Rules, a health inspection the other day sealed medicine godowns of the city’s major hospital for not possessing drugs sales’ licence, poor hygienic conditions.
Sources said that a health inspection team comprising Deputy District Health Officer Dr Sarfaraz Khan along with Drugs Inspector Malik Arshad Awan raided the Christian Hospital and sealed its three different godowns of medicines.
Talking to journalists, Awan said that the hospital administration was selling medicines to patients without possessing drugs sales’ licence, which is mandatory for any health facility to sell medicines under drugs rules 1976 and Punjab Healthcare Commission Rules 2010.
He said that in sheer violation, the hospital was involved in bulk purchase and retail sale of medicines without any pharmacist. He said that medicines worth Rs30 million which were stored in three different godowns where no cooling arrangements were made to save the sensitive medicines.
He claimed that there were no proper cleanliness arrangements in these godowns. While in another crackdown against drugs distribution companies vehicles, as many as seven vehicles were chllaned for not adopting proper procedure of transportation of medicines during checking at Margalla check post on GT road. In this connection, Awan said that the drugs distribution companies, including country’s premier drugs distribution companies’ vehicles carrying medicines were not following proper SoP for transportation of medicines and in light of Punjab Public Healthcare Commission Rules, these vehicles were impounded at police station. He said that challan against impounded vehicles and Christian hospital administration has been sent to the District Quality Control Board for further legal action. Speaking on this occasion, Deputy District Health Officer Dr Sarfaraz Khan said that it is first time when action has taken against ‘big fish’ for violating Drugs Act and PHC Act, 2010, as in the past only small shopkeepers and quacks were targeted.