Punjab government to gear up campaign against pilferage of medicines

Logistic support and additional staff would be provided to the Drug Inspectors for gearing up the ongoing campaign against pilferage of medicines from government hospitals and the preparation and sale of substandard drugs. It was decided in a meeting of the committee constituted by the Chief Minister Punjab for investigation of pilferage of medicines from government hospitals and spurious drugs cases, here on Friday.
Khawaja Salman Rafique MPA, Convenor of the Committee chaired the meeting, which was attended by Special Secretary Health Dawood Muhammad Khan Bareach, DIG Major Mubasharullah (Retd), Addl. Secretary Technical Dr Muhammad Mohsin, Chief Drug Inspector Moazzam Khan and Drug Inspector Ravi Town Shaukat Wahab.
The meeting decided that list of useable government property drugs worth thousands of rupees lying in the office of EDO Health Lahore as case property will be prepared, which will be utilised in the hospitals after obtaining permission from the concerned court and getting test report from Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) to avoid the loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer.
The meeting also decided that proper storage facilities will be provided at EDO Health Office Lahore for case property medicines along with staff ie storekeeper and helper / attendant. It was decided that IG police would be approached to change the investigations of recently lodged cases of spurious drugs by the police and to handover these investigations to DIG Major Mubasharullah. Khawaja Salman Rafique directed the officers of health department to provide proper storage facility for confiscated medicines along with the staff for proper care of valuable government property.
Moreover, senior Professors of hospitals of Lahore have said the number of deaths due to dengue virus would have been much more, had the provincial leadership not adopted timely and effective strategy for eradication of dengue virus. Senior Executive Officer Services Hospital and renowned physician Professor Dr Faisal Masood said that the attack of dengue in Lahore was very severe, which was also acknowledged by the Sri Lankan medical team.