Reports that the eyesight of 10 individuals who underwent eye surgeries at the Nuwara Eliya District General Hospital has been weakened due to the presence of germs in a medicine imported from India are extremely concerning, especially for a country like Sri Lanka with a struggling health sector and medical service seekers. As per the Director of the Hospital, Dr. Mahendra Seneviratne, who confirmed this development in response to local media institutions’ questioning about certain information that they had received through Hospital sources, the eyesight of certain patients who underwent surgeries after 5 April has weakened or completely been lost as a result of the medicine in question which had been provided to them following the surgeries. The patients who experienced this are reportedly receiving the necessary treatments.
It goes without saying that at a time when the public relies heavily on public sector healthcare services, this development, although this is the first and only time so far such an incident was reported in Sri Lanka, is a major cause for concern. The response that the health authorities should provide in this case, therefore, should be a prompt, scientific and also in-depth one.
The health authorities should launch an immediate probe to find out what the nature and gravity of the said health issue is, what specific medicine or what aspects of that medicine are in question, whether the administration of those medicines was conducted properly by the Hospital authorities, to what establishments including hospitals were those medicines distributed, and also whether those medicines manufactured in India are being used anywhere else in Sri Lanka. More importantly, immediate steps need to be taken to halt the use of those medicines and recommend alternatives. It is learned that the batch of eye drops in question has now been withdrawn and that eye surgeries have been temporarily halted at hospitals.
This situation also calls for medium or long term measures to ensure that the quality of the medicines used in Sri Lanka, regardless of the country of manufacture, is assessed more rigorously. This incident is a message that in addition to the initial evaluation of the quality of imported medicines, there should be a proper monitoring process following the approval of medicines to be used in Sri Lanka. It is high time to introduce such a system, if such does not exist already, or to strengthen the existing applicable systems. With regard to Indian manufactured medicines, taking this incident as a warning sign, Sri Lanka should be more cautious and take the necessary steps regardless of Sri Lanka’s longstanding ties with India or other factors such as the concessional rates for medicines or donations that may have been given by India. Sri Lanka should not be careless enough to ignore the quality aspect of medicines under any circumstances, because medicines could literally be a factor in life and death situations.
What is more, the abovementioned incident should not be construed or addressed as a mere health threat, as there is a certain fear in the Sri Lankan society about Indian manufactured medicines, especially since this is not the first time that the quality and efficacy of Indian manufactured medicines attracted negative attention in recent memory. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were concerns both nationally and internationally about Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in India, with some parties questioning their safety and even refusing to take Covishield. In Sri Lanka, in the context of the economic crisis where India came forth to support Sri Lanka through the provision of medicines at concessional rates and at times free of charge, various parties raised concerns about the possibility of substandard medicines coming from India and also medicines coming from Indian medicines manufacturers that have in the past been blacklisted. Internationally, just a few months ago, the World Health Organisation issued a warning against the use of two Indian made cough syrups linked to the deaths of at least 20 children in Uzbekistan. In this background, the health authorities should be mindful of the impact this could have on the society’s feeling of safety when obtaining treatment from public hospitals. If not addressed in a reassuring manner, this could especially affect those who are taking treatment for eye related health conditions.
This is an opportunity for the health authorities to nip a possible national level health threat in the bud.