7 November 2023 12:00 am Views - 233
JMO Peradeniya Teaching Hospital Dr. Prabhath Serasinghe said self-medication and the use of drugs overdose resulted in the death of patients quite often as revealed by several recent postmortem examinations.
Addressing a seminar at the Kandy District Secretariat Auditorium yesterday organized by the Ministry of Justice, he said the patients should take only the prescribed dose of medicine, but several patients had died of overdose. He pointed out that taking an overdose of drugs in the category of paracetamol had caused the danger.
“Patients who take treatments for more than one ailment should not keep it a secret to a doctor when seeking treatment for another. Varying compounds in drugs of different manufacturers could perhaps result in death. The JMOs are able to reveal the facts with the help of laboratory tests and through forensic medicine,” he said. “In addition to their laboratory role, forensic scientists testify as expert witnesses in the criminal and civil cases, and they can work for either the prosecution or the defence,” he further said.
Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice Krishanthi Meegahapola, Director (Reforms) Thilini Gammunage and several senior officials were present at the occasion.