NEW DELHI: A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India over the city's public health infrastructure has revealed a shocking figure. The audit revealed that close to 15 lakh units of inferior quality drugs were consumed in hospitals run by the city government between 2015 and 2022, posing serious risks to patient safety.
According to the report which detailed the procurement and usage of defective medicines, a total of 14,83,487 units of these drugs, despite being flagged as substandard, were consumed by patients. Some of these drugs were identified as defective only after they had already been used in hospitals. In many cases, hospitals had to replace large quantities of these medicines after test reports confirmed their poor quality.
The medicines include commonly used drugs like Diclofenac Sodium, Ibuprofen, Azithromycin, Paracetamol, Ranitidine, and Ceftriaxone. Several injectable drugs such as Pantaprazole, Iron Sucrose, and Gentamycin, were also found to be of poor quality.
The consumption of the substandard drugs in the hospitals was around 43 per cent of the total inferior medicines received.
One of the most alarming cases involved Ranitidine 150mg, where 448,800 units of inferior quality stock were consumed before action was taken. Similarly, Azithromycin 500mg tablets had a significant number of defective doses administered to patients. Essential drugs like Paracetamol, Amino Acid Injections, and Calcium Supplements were also affected.
The report raises concerns about the drug procurement and quality control mechanisms in public hospitals. The delayed identification of substandard medicines indicates serious lapses in testing procedures, allowing poor-quality drugs to reach patients.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Assembly witnessed heated exchanges on Monday as Delhi Minister Dr Pankaj Singh launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the findings of the CAG report on health services.
Singh alleged that the previous AAP government failed to ensure quality checks on food provided in hospitals and forced people to migrate from the city due to its policies. He also claimed that the government neglected medicine procurement, purchased drugs from blacklisted companies - including expired medicines - and failed to assess the need for new hospital beds.
He added that out of 86 contracts proposed by the government, only 24 were approved.