LAHORE: After surfacing of a scam in which several cancer patients were allegedly administered expired medicines at the Mayo Hospital’s oncology department, health authorities confiscated these drugs and re-admitted some of the discharged patients to avoid any adverse affect on their health.

As per sources, after surfacing of the scam the hospital administration immediately traced three of the discharged patients and readmitted them in the oncology ward. These patients were examined by a team of senior doctors, including oncologists, they added.

The sources say that the hospital’s top management and the relevant senior medics wereunaware of the exact number of the cancer patients who received the ‘expired medicines’, adding that investigations were ongoing to reach more affected patients.

King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Ayaz Mahmood confirmed the administration of ‘expired drugs’ to the cancer patients at the Mayo Hospital.

Two storekeepers suspended, ‘drug stock seized in raid’

He told Dawn that the hospital management has suspended two storekeepers for showing negligence. The KEMU VC says that a five-member committee has been constituted to probe into the issue.

The committee comprises Dr Iftikhar Ahmad Butt, Dr Qazi Mumtaz, Deputy Nursing Superintendent Ms Tahira Khatoon, Senior Pharmacist Sadia Khalid and Audit officer Mohammad Hifzan, he adds.

He says the cancer patients who were administered ‘expired drugs’ underwent variousdiagnostic tests, including ECG, for evaluation of their health condition as such medicine could affect cardiac health.

However, Dr Ayaz says, these patients’ had suffered no life-threatening side effect because of these medicines so far as their ECG reports were found to be normal. Reports of some other tests are awaited to complete the investigations, he adds.

Meanwhile, an official says, a team of public health experts, including pharmacists, raided the Mayo Hospital’s store and other relevant sections, seizing the ‘expired cancer medicines’. Some samples of the seized drugs have been sent to different labs for analysis, he adds.

Seeking anonymity, the official says that the hospital authorities are trying to hush up the matter and were not revealing how and when the patients were administering the ‘expired drugs’. He says that they are also not interested in gathering the data of all the affected cancer patients, probably to avoid wrath of Punjab chief minister.

The official says it is not the first such incident and cited the Khanewal DHQ episode in which some minor patients had died allegedly due to reaction of expired antibiotics around a month ago. Following the incident, the police had arrested a staff nurse which led to a strong agitation by nurses and doctors across Punjab.

Similarly, he mentioned that reaction of a drug had seriously affected eyesight of scores of patients in Lahore, Kasur and other parts of the province in September 2023, prompting the authorities concerned to suspend dozens of drug inspectors and other relevant official from service.

He said that the government had banned the manufacturing and supply of the faulty medicines for a certain period in the wake of the investigations launched by the health and other departments.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2024