Corporation forcibly closes In-House Drug Bank in MCH; hospitals without access to medicine

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The functioning of the In-House Drug Bank, operating on the SAT campus as a station for poor patients in the capital, has come to a standstill. A new building is being constructed for the drug bank as part of becoming the first modern pharmacy in the country. The hospital superintendent directed the authorities of the drug house to relocate the office to a part of the dormitory that had been closed at the SAT hospital, until then.

The dormitory, which was commissioned by the corporation to renovate, has been closed for more than two and a half years. However, the operation of the in-house drug bank shifted to the dormitory was opposed by medical college ward councillor D R Anil. Officials said the councillor’s question was how the building, handed over to the corporation for renovation, had not been returned, then how can it function.

The hospital superintendent informed Health Minister K K Shailaja the intervention to stop the operation of the drug bank. The health minister directly called Mayor Arya Rajendran. The health minister told the mayor that the drug house has been moved to the building where the dormitory was located for the time being and they should not be disturbed.

Meantime, the employees said the councillor along with a team arrived last evening and disrupted the functioning of the drug house. The employees were asked to leave and then they locked up the office. The employees are in a helpless situation as they cannot open the office.

According to the Drug House staff, the supply of medicines to the government hospital has come to a complete standstill after the office was closed due to the councillor’s insistence. They cannot even distribute the materials for emergency surgery. The government hospitals are badly hit due to the closure of the drug bank that supplies masks and sanitizers at low prices during Covid time. The building constructed by the hospital and the corporation at a cost of Rs 18 lakh, was locked up for a long time for renovation estimated at a cost of Rs 54 lakh.

There were no medicines in the dormitory. The drug bank was not functioning there. The drug bank was asked to shift to a building constructed when T N Seema was MP. The corporation is not able to give the building to them. After cleaning the building, it will be handed over for Covid prevention activities. That is the need of the hour, said councillor Anil