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Police probe West Dem Hospital drug procurement fraud

Feb 26, 2017 News

…pharmacist and wife in police custody

Two persons are currently in police custody assisting with an investigation into the allegations of drug procurement and supply fraud at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
According to reports that have been substantiated by the Ministry of Public Health by way of a statement, Puran Bipath, a pharmacist attached to the West Demerara Hospital, and his wife, have been taken into police custody.
The couple, according to information out of the Ministry, is employed at the hospital and is suspected of being involved in drug procurement and supply fraud after irregularities were discovered by a team from the Ministry.
Reports are that the team, acting on the instructions of Senior Minister of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence, had been conducting a fact-finding mission which uncovered the discrepancies during the course of this week.
Mr. John Adams, Member of Parliament representing Region Three, in an invited comment on Friday, said that the team visited on Wednesday and found that there were some inconsistencies in the record keeping for pharmaceuticals.
Following internal investigations, a report was made to the Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Public Health is cooperating with authorities.
Officials at the Ministry’s end of year press conference assured that deliberate moves were apace to ensure that recurring issues of the unavailability of drugs and medical supplies will become a thing of the past this year.
And the key to achieving this ambitious goal in the public health system will require embracing a procurement process that is data-driven.
Former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, revealed that the government is on a mission to improve the public health sector and by extension the wellbeing of the Guyanese populace. In so doing, he revealed that moves are being made to advance public health care by allocating 12.5 per cent or $31.2 billion of the 2017 National budget for the public health sector.
“Adequate health infrastructure, a challenge faced by healthcare providers and the general public in the past, will be a top priority in 2017, such as equipping and upgrading of district hospitals to deliver the full suite of mandated services,” said Dr. Norton.
He added that this move will essentially allow the public health sector to provide inclusive health care to the nation.
Part of the improvement measures slated for the public health sector this year is the construction of a National Psychosocial Rehabilitation Complex as well as a mental health unit. These, according to Dr. Norton, will allow the public health sector to further address the high rate of suicide as well as the high incidence of mental illnesses.
Among the other areas of focus for the Ministry this year will be efforts at “bringing our laboratory facilities up to a modern and international standard.”
The Ministry will also seek to further improve maternal health through a recently approved Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan. The loan, according to Dr. Norton, will also cater to the training of some 300 health workers in the area of Mental Health.

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