• Take NDQAL to task, Rajitha says situ to worsen, Rambukwella slams fear mongering  

Claiming that the serious problematic situation that has arisen in the health sector cannot be limited to the term 'allergies', the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) stated it is not possible to find solutions for it by appointing committees from time to time.

While the country has seen several deaths due to the alleged use of substandard pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines that are said to have been imported without following the due quality checking procedure in the recent past, the authorities are seen attributing such deaths to those caused by allergies.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (18), the CMLS President, Ravi Kumudesh said: "There were several incidents of patients becoming blind due to the use of certain types of eye drops. In addition, another large number of patients suffered permanent eye related complications. There are reports that 10 patients died due to the contamination of a certain type of fluid used for the filtration process in kidney patients at the National Hospital in Kandy. These were not caused by so called allergies as the authorities claim."

Pointing out that a total of 12 of the 44 computerised tomography (CT) scan machines available for patients in Sri Lanka are broken, he said that two of the 10 linear accelerator machines (a machine that aims radiation at cancer tumors with pinpoint accuracy, sparing nearby healthy tissue) are also not functioning. "Two catheter laboratories are not working. About 70 medical laboratory tests are performed at hospitals. Nearly Rs. 50 billion has not been paid for reagents purchased from companies. The Health Ministry does not even know how much it owes to those companies. So, can these issues be resolved by lamenting about allergies?," he queried.

Speaking further, Kumudesh said that the Ministry itself has acknowledged that there is a shortage of 270 drugs in the country at present. "Permission has been granted on 164 occasions to import unregistered drugs last year (2022). The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has permitted importing more than 50 unregistered drugs so far this year (2023). When there is a severe shortage of health professionals, the Cabinet of Ministers remains doing nothing as if they do not know anything about these issues."

He also charged that the National Drug Quality Assurance Laboratory (NDQAL) is currently limited to a name board, and does nothing to ensure the quality of drugs used in the country. "It is only when a certain patient dies and the media criticises the NDQAL bothers to fulfill their duty. In addition, there is no one in the Ministry to look into general issues at hospitals. The Deputy Directors General of Health do not show any interest in resolving the issues in the respective fields. The Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella is not even aware about these issues. That is why I say that this crisis is not caused by allergies."

Meanwhile, former Health Minister and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne yesterday made remarks on the prevailing problematic situation in the health sector. Referring to the recent deaths of patients due to the alleged use of substandard drugs and vaccines, he said that the situation is more likely to worsen in the coming months. "This is only the beginning. This situation will get worse in the coming months. So, we ask the Health Minister to listen to us and to properly look into these issues. If needed, I and the Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa will sit with you (Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella) to discuss these issues and find solutions. Do not play with the lives of the people. Now, they are afraid to seek treatment from a hospital," he said, while speaking in the Parliament.

In response to him, Rambukwella claimed that the Opposition was attempting to scare the people by making negative remarks on the State health sector. "Now, he said that this situation will get worse in the coming months. Isn't it an attempt to scare the people? We are ready to look into these issues and solve them."