Drug theft a growing concern for CMCH
A nexus of staffers at Chittagong Medical College Hospital has long been allegedly involved in stealing government medicine, despite steps taken by the authorities concerned.
The CMCH authorities took legal action against the culprits over the past few years, besides tightening security measures at the hospital, but failed to stop the illegal activities.
CMCH sources said some staffers are directly involved in stealing government medicine from the hospital in connivance with outsiders.
Essential Drugs Company Limited, an estate-owned pharmaceutical company, supplies most medicines to the government-run hospitals.
The medicines bear a seal that reads "government medicine, not for sale," said the sources.
Medicines that are not produced by the company are procured by hospitals from other sources, often imported from abroad, and these do not bear the seal.
"Those stealing government medicines from the hospital face difficulty selling the drugs to pharmacies in the city due to the seal, and so they sell those to stores in remote upazilas," said a CMCH staffer.
"However, the other drugs they steal from the hospital can easily be sold in city pharmacies," he said.
At least 20 people, including 10 CMCH staffers, were caught red-handed with stolen medicines in the past two years and were sued in cases filed with the police, while government medicines worth Tk 6 lakh were seized from them, said Nurul Alam, in-charge of CMCH Police Camp.
However, stealing of medicines could not be stopped at the hospital, he said.
On December 5 last year, police at CMCH arrested a hospital staffer with government medicines worth Tk 14,000 from the hospital pharmacy.
On information gleaned from him, police recovered government medicines worth Tk 8,000 from his house adjacent to the hospital and also arrested two more CMCH staffers in this connection, he said
The arrestees are Azizur Rahman, 50, an office assistant at CMCH ticket counter; Daud Ishak, 52, assistant pharmacist at CMCH; and Simon Hossain, 46, an electrician at CMCH.
Contacted, Nurul Gani, senior vice president of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Association in Chattogram district, said the hospital authorities should take strict action against those staffers.
Contacted, CMCH Director Brig Gen Shamim Ahsan said they have taken steps in this regard. "When a staff member is detained with stolen medicines, we suspend and file a case against them," he said.
"Our inquiry found that they sell the stolen medicine to remote upazilas and Hazari Goli, the wholesale hub of medicines in the port city, at a cheaper price."
"We have tightened the security in every ward, with Ansar men deployed at the entrances of the wards and the hospital," he added.
Contacted, Protik Dutta, executive magistrate of Chattogram, said they are conducting regular drives against the illegal sale of stolen government medicines.
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