Drug that caused death of young woman at Peradeniya Hospital still in use: Keheliya

The drug that is said to have caused the death of a young woman at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital recently was still in use in Hospitals where more than 66,000 vials of the said drug were in stock, islandwide, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday.  

He told Parliament that 145,930 vials of the said drug have been dispatched to Hospitals and 79,260 vials out of this, have been used so far. 

  “A total of 19,200 vials of the drug have been dispatched to Batticaloa Hospital and 16,800 have been already used. 12,800 vials out of 24,000 vials provided to Peradeniya Teaching Hospital have been used. 1,800 vials out of 2,400 provided to Avissawella hospital and all 50 vials provided to Moratuwa Hospital have been used,” he said.  

The Minister said this drug was registered in Sri Lanka in 2013 and that it was being used for 20 years so far and added that a world renowned Company had imported the drug.   “I refute allegations that inferior quality drugs have caused the death. These allegations are made with vested interest to sabotage the free health sector,” he said.  
The Minister said the particular batch that is said to have caused the death has been withheld.  

Rambukwella said all 14 life-saving drugs used in the country were in stock sufficient until December this year and that there was a shortage of 273 essential drugs out of 850. “39 essential drugs will be received today,” he said.