NEW DELHI: Days after L-G VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged case of supplying and procuring substandard quality drugs, the Directorate General of Health Services has asked Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics (AAMC) and polyclinics in the city to return the stock of such medicines to the government storage facility.
“The clinics, including AAMCs, have been asked to return the five drugs which failed the quality test by the drug controller by Wednesday,” a government official said.
The drugs that have failed the test include Cephalexin, a life-saving antibiotic for the treatment of lung and urinary tract infections; Dexamethasone, a steroid for curing life-threatening inflammation in lungs, joints and swelling in the body; Levetiracetam, an anti-epilepsy and anti-anxiety psychiatric drug; and Amlodipine for hypertension.
However, officials said most of the clinics do not have stock of such medicines as they are definitive treatment drugs whose stock is maintained majorly at hospitals. The Drug Controller randomly collected the 86 drug samples from three major hospitals—IHBAS, Lok Nayak and Deen Dayal Upadhyay—and sent 43 each to the approved government and private labs for testing.
Over 10 per cent of the samples failed the quality test. According to the Vigilance Department, out of 43 samples that were sent to government labs, three samples failed the test and 12 reports are still pending. Further, out of another 43 samples sent to private labs, five samples failed.