‘COPF should create system for emergency purchase of drugs’

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said in Parliament yesterday (15) that Parliament should create a proper mechanism to purchase the medicines  and equipment required for health care services.

The Minister said that the mechanism should be established with a committee like the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) as the foundation and the relevant officers and Ministers should be consulted to prepare the mechanism.

The Minister said this while drawing the attention of the House to the report presented by Dr. Harsha de Silva as the COPF Chairman.

The Justice Minister also said: “It is wrong to treat the procurement of medicines as general procurement. To correct it, former health ministers introduced an emergency purchase system. But fraud and corruption occurred under these emergency purchases.

“Therefore, the current Health Minister has stopped the emergency purchase system. I think it should be stopped because this is creating a mafia that even he cannot control. In this way, the patients cannot live until the medicine is procured and brought eight or ten months late.

“Therefore, there are times when patients have to get the treatment they need in a short period of time. Even a Minister is afraid to make decisions on his own because it is difficult to face the accusations.

“Therefore, this Parliament should form a mechanism to purchase medicines and equipment for health care services. They say that a system should be formed in a very short period of time by bringing the relevant officials from the relevant ministries and obtaining opinions from the Ministers, if necessary, through a committee like the COPF.”

SJB Colombo District Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar said that in October, emergency purchases were stopped. Allotment for one year is exhausted by then. This can be avoided if the hospitals estimate the medicines they need. If this method is followed from now, this problem can be solved in the coming year.

SLFP Kurunegala District Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara said that the chief executive officer of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority was sacked. He has been assigned to the Medical Research Institute. Next comes the immunoglobulin scam.

“Several doctors connected to this incident have gone abroad. When such investigations are going on, the CID prevents them from leaving the country. Special attention should be paid to this. Those involved in the incident have taken houses and vehicles in England. The Magistrate has ordered the arrest of these people. Then they will leave the country. When the big ones run away, the little ones are left behind,” the Kurunegala MP said.

Kalutara District MP Rajitha Senaratne said that it will take nine months for procurement of medicines. “When we were in Government, a procedure was created to complete this procurement process in three months. Ravi Karunanayake was sent to the Procurement Commission. It was not approved. It would be better if this Government takes it and improves it and implements it. There is also a method to make emergency purchases. It is okay if you make emergency purchases according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization. The court has already issued a travel ban on the former chief executive officer of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, who faces the substandard immunoglobulin issue.”

The post ‘COPF should create system for emergency purchase of drugs’ appeared first on DailyNews.