DSI probing misuse of cold medicine
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Hospitals in Uttaradit and Samut Sakhon under the scanner
After a recent finding that a senior pharmacist at a Udon Thani hospital stole a type of cold medicine which could be used in the production of amphetamine and sold it, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is probing similar incidents at two other hospitals one in Uttaradit and the other in Samut Sakhon.
The Public Health Ministry, after ordering internal probes into irregularities at the two hospitals, has threatened to take disciplinary action against directors of any hospitals where corruption of such a kind was to be found. Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said officials responsible could face dismissal.
At the provincial hospital in Udon Thani, the unnamed 40yearold official allegedly forged reports that 65,000 tablets of the pseudoephedrinebased medicine, contained in 130 bottles, had been delivered on several occasions to a healthpromoting hospital at tambon level. Officials say in fact he unlawfully sold them and kept the proceeds.
The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has called on hospitals to order phenylephrinebased medicines for patients in place of pseudoephedrine, which had recently been classified as a prescription item. The FDA is planning to impose a stricter restriction on pseudoephedrine – a Type 2 addictive substance to make it difficult to get into the hands of illicit drug dealers or abused by patients.
DSI agents have now visited the Udon Thanibased hospital and will call on the Thong Saen Khan hospital in Uttaradit on March 56. The DSI investigation at the unnamed hospital in Samut Sakhon would not likely begin until the ministry has asked the DSI to help in the probe. At present an internal investigation is underway at the hospital.
At a Bangkok conference, Witthaya said the total of pseudoephedrinebased tablets ordered and prescribed by this hospital exceeded 1 million. The usual number of tablets handled by a hospital in a mediumsize province would be around 300,000 while a hospital in a largesized province was not likely to exceed 500,000.
"The volume is high for a smallsized province like Samut Sakhon, and an ongoing probe will soon find out why the figure has reached a million," he said. FDA secretarygeneral Phiphat Yingseri said a survey would be needed to find out where the stocks of the pseudoephedrinebased tablets were.
Phiphat called on hospitals to thoroughly check stocks of medicines both in their storage or ordered on their behalf. In many cases, he said, the drugs were delivered to hospitals but not through purchase orders, and later picked up by nonstaffers.
The FDA in the meantime would survey stocks of all pharmacies to find out how many tablets of pseudoephedrinebased medicines were left in their storage, after the restrictions took effect. "There are more than 5,000 pharmacies in Bangkok and the FDA expects to inspect 1,000 of them by this year's end," he added.
He did not give details about the total number of pharmacies located outside Bangkok, but said the FDA would ask provincial authorities to help inspect up to 40 per cent of them within this year.
