The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has opened a new battlefront against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government by accusing the Health department of imperilling public health by allegedly distributing medicines past their expiry date to commoners seeking medical care in public-funded hospitals.
Leaning on a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Tuesday alleged politically sanctioned big-ticket corruption in the Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSC) responsible for large-scale procurement of essential drugs. The agency violated norms by purchasing medicine approaching the lapse date to help pharmaceutical companies expend unused stocks in reciprocation for outsize backhanders.
He said that government rules mandated that the KMSC only purchase medicines with a minimum expiry period of three years. However, the KMSC violated the norms in the procurement of 1,610 batches of medicine. It distributed drugs that passed their validity date through at least 26 public hospitals, jeopardising the health of trusting patients.
