Cash shortfall at state hospitals sparks budget probe

Now the Public Health Ministry has revealed the expense budget for medicine in these hospitals was nearly Bt100 billion per year, and included many items of suspiciously large amounts. 

This prompted the Comptroller General’s Department (CGD) and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to last year probe in retrospect the hospitals’ medical expenses in search of alleged corruption. 

One irregularity they uncovered was the prescribing of medicine to patients in larger-than-necessary amounts. Another was to lower the amount in stock so they could order fresh supplies from the drug company in exchange for commissions or other benefits. 

This “drug-shopping” saw welfare-entitled officials visiting 2-3 hospitals to get expensive drugs for diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure – which could reach Bt20,000 per visit – to sell to pharmacies cheaply. The CGD gathered evidence for lawsuits against eight such drug-shoppers. It was reported the drug-shopping caused losses of Bt16 million per year to the state.

As the DSI team, led by investigator Angsuket Wisutwattanasak dug deeper, they found more stock problems, pre-meditated or inadvertent – as well as 10 million tablets of cold medicine with pseudoephedrine, an ingredient for narcotics making, that had gone missing. 

Udon Thani Hospital showed the largest loss – seven million tablets worth Bt11 million. When police discovered empty packs of cold medicine with pseudoephedrine in Chiang Mai’s San Kham Phaeng district, the misdeeds became clearer. 

Narcotics Control Board Office Region 4 director Songkram Khamtonwong said the unusual demand for cold medicine went on for a year. Some was being sent across the northern border to a neighbouring country, while home-made ya ba makers in the Central province were receiving pseudoephedrine supplies too.