Medicines of worth lakhs for poor patients burnt at Bishnah Hospital

People stage protest, Dir Health takes cognizance

Jammu: Medicines worth lakhs of rupees which were meant for poor patients were burnt at Government Hospital, Bishnah by the hospital authorities, prompting people to hold protests against the doctors concerned.
Scores of people from Bishnah started holding protests after hospital authorities put the heap of medicines on fire. The medicines were reportedly issued by the government for free delivery to poor patients. The majority of the medicines were to be expired in the year 2024. Director of Health and Services Jammu Saleem Rehman told The News Now that cognizance in this connection will be taken.
Earlier also, the same practice was followed a few months back, and taking cognizance of the matter officials from the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Board issued notice to the Bishnah hospital and sought an explanation.
Sharing details official sources said that among burnt medicines, Amoxicillin and pediatric vaccines were in large numbers.
Expressing resentment, a local of the area told that the doctors put the free medicines on fire and later prescribed the same medicines forcing the poor patients to buy the same from the chemist shops.
He alleged that by doing so, the doctors got commissions from such chemists, adding, such corruption needs to be curbed and a probe should be ordered by the government.
Pertinently, in the year 2016, the government rolled out Free Drug Policy in J&K. Under the free drugs policy, all government health facilities provide essential medicines free of cost to patients, based on prescriptions by government doctors. They usually provide generic medicines, unless a branded medicine is the only option available in a particular category.