ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Mian Mohammad Ateeq Shaikh on Friday stunned the lawmakers that a frequently used injection with the actual wholesale price of Rs27 was being sold in the market for Rs750.

During a meeting of the committee at Parliament House, Mr Shaikh criticised the health ministry and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) for not keeping a proper check on the sale of the injection. He said the injection was essential in surgical cases but the officials concerned were not taking any step to bring down its price.

He said in the past the raw material used for the preparation of the injection cost around $10,000 per kg but now its prices had reduced to just $56 per kg. But even then, there is no relief for the patients in the country.

An injection frequently used in surgical cases with actual wholesale price of Rs27 is being sold for Rs750, Ateeq Shaikh says

“Let me say in this country the drug mafia is more powerful than the prime minister,” he said, asking the Drap officials to take steps to reduce the prices of all those medicines whose raw material had seen a significant decrease in the international market.

An official of the health ministry told the committee that as per the existing policy the ministry cannot reduce the drug prices, particularly that of the injection. But Secretary Health Zahid Saeed said rules should not be a hindrance in such matters.

“We should not hide behind the policy,” he said and assured the committee that he would look into the issue and if there was a need for making changes to the policy and rules the ministry would do it. The secretary said it was the ministry which proposed rules and policies so saying rules did not allow any step was not justified.

The committee also took up the recent arrest of a fake doctor at Pims where he had been practicing for six months. The initial investigation showed that two postgraduates of the hospital had hired the fake doctor for doing night duties for them.

Senator Kalsoom Parveen said the fake doctor was caught by patients, not by the hospital administration. She said there were also a number of doctors with dubious educational credentials in the country.

The chairman said the case of the fake doctor practicing at Pims exposed the efficiency of the hospital administration. The committee asked the secretary health to hold a proper inquiry into the matter.

The committee also discussed the issue of fake clinics and dispensaries being run in various parts of the country as well as the federal capital.

The secretary health told the committee that efforts were being made to make the Islamabad Health Care Regulatory Authority (IHRA) functional as soon as possible.

According to a working paper of the ministry, which was presented before the committee, parliament had already enacted the law to establish the authority which also received the assent of the president in May.

“This authority shall provide a regulatory framework to ensure provision of quality healthcare services to residents of the capital.”

Under the law, no healthcare establishment shall function in the capital unless it is registered with the IHRA, stated the working paper. It said the process for the selection of members of the IHRA by a committee was being finalised to make the authority functional.

The health ministry officials told the committee that currently the capital territory administration was supposed to take action against fake clinics. The committee decided to call the chief commissioner and the inspector general of police Islamabad to the next meeting to have a proper briefing on the subject.

The meeting was attended by senators Dr Ghous Mohammad Khan Niazi and Sana Jamali.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018