Latest update February 5th, 2025 11:03 AM
Expired drugs from 2016 still sitting in West Dem. Hospital bond
The West Demerara Regional Hospital
Expired drugs, worth millions of dollars, are still sitting at the West Demerara Regional Hospital bond in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), awaiting the intervention of the Government Analyst Food and Drugs Department.
This information was disclosed by regional officials who appeared before the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday where they were questioned about the bond, which attracted numerous queries from state auditors.
According to the Auditor General’s Report of 2016, 213 items of expired drugs with an approximate value of $5.4M were noted at West Demerara Regional Hospital and seven health centres within the region. It was revealed that the drugs are still being stored at the bond which is also used to store current medical supplies.
Regional Health Officer, Ravendra Dudhnath assured PAC member and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Parliamentarian, Nigel Dharamlall, that there is no chance that the expired drugs could be dispensed to residents, since they are stored separately in the bond.
It was disclosed that the region officially requested the removal and destruction of the expired drugs in August 2017.
The PAC heard that the bond had been compromised due to a leak in the roof that dates back to 2016. Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikaran told PAC members that remedial work was done on the roof in January and the region will tender for further works in another two weeks.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, who is also a PAC member, expressed concerns that the region, like many other Government agencies, was still using a manual system to account for supplies instead of a computerized one.
Accountant General, Jennifer Chapman explained that the Ministry of Finance is currently conducting a pilot of the stock module under the newly-introduced Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).
Upon completion of the pilot, the module will be widely distributed.
Auditor General Deodat Sharma noted that the region has a computerized system available, but not all the expired drugs were stored at the bond; hence, the use of a ledger system. He also expressed concerns that during the PAC meeting, the region could not produce a report detailing the cost of the drugs procured.
This is considered vital information, as the region has to place a dollar amount on the expired drugs identified for disposal.
Auditors had singled out regional officials, because a physical stock with records could not be carried out at the bond due to the unavailability of records. According to auditors, the drug bond was very congested and disorganized, and there were numerous unserviceable items to be sorted out for disposal.
The records are being reconstructed and the regional officials have been ordered to account for the cost of drugs and medical supplies purchased by the region, independently, and those that would have been procured through the Materials Management Unit (MMU), Ministry of Health.
Some $329M was transferred to the region in 2016 for the procurement of drugs and medical supplies. However, the region only utilized $127M, prompting Dharamlall to raise questions about the variance of the two amounts.
Dharamlall noted that it is likely that $127M will be the actual quantum needed to meet the drugs and medical supplies of the region.
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