11 hospital directors to be questioned

The DSI questioning of the directors is the result of a key meeting between the DSI, ministry officials and Food and Drugs Administration officials yesterday. It was agreed that the DSI would be fully authorised to conduct the questioning of the 11 directors. Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Phaijit Warachit had said earlier that a parallel ministry probe concluded that three directors had been found to have committed minor breaches of the disciplinary code of conduct.

The three directors, who have been identified in news reports but were not named by Phaijit yesterday, may still have to be transferred to inactive posts at the ministry if the move is endorsed by ministry officials who have been scrutinising the cases. 

The three hospitals are Kamalasai Hospital in Kalasin, Udon Thani General Hospital and Thong Saeng Khan in Uttaradit. Pseudoephedrine tablets are used as a reactant to make amphetamines. Many cases of their disappearance from government hospitals have occurred. Resident pharmacists are suspected of stealing them for sale to narcotics makers. 

Phaijit said the directors were not directly at fault for pseudoephedrine tablets going missing from their hospitals’ inventories, nor were they were found to have pocketed money through illegal sales of the tablets. 

“It is that their supervision of the purchase, delivery and dispensation of the pseudoephedrine tablets was not good enough,” he said.

The eight other hospitals or clinics are Doi Lor, Hot, Nawamin 1, Siam Raj, Nong Kee, Phoo Sing, Suphornchai and Samphan.

A DSI investigation at the Kamalasai Hospital would also be recommenced, said Banthoon Chimokra, a senior DSI agent, following the coming to light of new evidence that specifically incriminates former ministers and highranking ministry officials in the theft and sale of pseudoephedrinecontaining tablets.

The reinvestigation at this hospital has reportedly been substantiated with extra evidence supplied by Phasit Sakdanarong, an adviser to the ministry, who personally led an inspection and reportedly uncovered important documents implicating the unnamed former ministers and senior officials.

Phasit yesterday held a meeting with the Office of the Auditor General to discuss a coming blanket inspection of spending by all government hospitals to look for suspiciously frequent purchases of medicines by any hospitals from any pharmaceutical firm.

Acting Auditor General Phisit Leelawachirophas said Phasit told him that many hospitals other than those 11 facing DSI probes had purchased medicines in a suspicious manner.