Beneficiaries allege that medicines of lesser quality are being supplied against doctors’ prescriptions by dispensaries of the Central Government Health Scheme in Hyderabad.
The CGHS comes under the Union ministry of health and family welfare and supplies medicines to patients of government hospitals and Central government employees and pensioners. There are 13 dispensaries in Hyderabad overseen by an additional director of the CGHS.
Earlier, all dispensaries received medicines from an authorised medical store depot (MSD). Since a year the authorisation to purchase medicines has been given to the respective dispensaries by calling tenders on an annual basis. It is alleged that there is a nexus between the officers authorising tenders and the chemists, leading to low-quality medicines being provided to beneficiaries.
Mr P.V. Ramaniah, a beneficiary who has lodged a complaint with the joint director, CGHS, New Delhi, said, “Most medicines which are regularly required by patients are procured from the local chemist and not the department’s store. The chemist is supplying medicines under a different name from the one prescribed by the CHGS wellness centre doctors.”
It takes 15 days to receive an insulin vial indented from a department store. The price of the medicines supplied by the chemist appears to be not checked with those on the CHGS list.
“I was prescribed Rosuvas 10, but I was given Rosubest 10. For Glimepiride 2 mg the dispensary gave me Glimdo 2 mg and for Amlodipine 5, I was given Amlip 5. If the dispensary goes on supplying different brands that are lower in quality, what will be our fate?” said Mr Ram Venkat Naidu, a Central government pensioner.
