No definition for inferior quality medicine: Keheliya

• Patients would have died as a result of medicine shortage if purchases were not made, say officials

By Yohan Perera   

The allegation on using inferior quality medicine cannot be accepted as there is no official definition to rate any medicine as inferior quality, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella said.    

The minister made this remark at the meeting of the Consultative Committee on health held at the Parliamentary complex yesterday.   

He also revealed that the drug which caused the death of a young woman at Peradeniya Hospital has been used on 12 other patients at the same ward. “Some 167,000 vials of the medicine has been used by various hospitals within this year. This medicine has been registered in Sri Lanka in October 2013,” he said.   
He said there is no definition under which a medicine can be rated as inferior quality.   
The officials of Health Ministry who attended the meeting said patients would have died as a result of a medicine shortages if purchases were not made. Also they said 80 percent of drugs are imported to Sri Lanka from India even when the time of credit lines have lapsed.   

Responding to a query made by MP Tissa Vitharana as to whether Sri Lanka follows the pharmaceutical policy of late Professor Senaka Bibile, Minister Rambukwella said the government follows that policy. MP Vitharana then noted that the government should call up for tenders to purchase medicine which the country needs annually straight away rather than calling tenders for several times during the year,   

Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, State Ministers Diana Gamage, Sisira Jayakody, Siripala Gamlath, MPs Samanpriya Herath, Tissakutti Arachchi, Sahan Pradeep Withana, Dr. Gayashan Nawananda, M. H. A. Haleem and Samapth Athukorala participated in the meeting.