Right to health care: PHC urged to announce verdict in substandard drug case

Interferon is not available in public health centres as it is a subject of litigation.

PESHAWAR:

The provincial health department has appealed to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to announce a final decision in the case of the purchase of substandard interferon injections so the medicine can be made available for hepatitis patients.

Around 4,000 patients of hepatitis B and C who cannot afford private treatment have been suffering for over six months due to the non-availability of interferon at public health centres in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The supply of the therapeutic drug has been suspended because a case is being heard in the PHC regarding the health department’s purchase and supply of low-quality interferon. Interferon vials worth Rs130 million had been purchased by the health department from a Lahore-based company in 2012 and supplied to all public healthcare centres. However, when the drug was tested at a private laboratory in Peshawar it was found to be below par.

On February 6, 2013, the PHC took suo motu notice of the matter and ordered an enquiry. Subsequently, on March 13, the then anti-corruption establishment (ACE) director, Syed Fayyaz Ali Shah, submitted a preliminary report in court stating substandard interferon was suspected to have caused the deaths of six patients. In April, the ACE also seized all existing stocks of interferon.

The case is still pending in the PHC which is yet to announce a final decision. Meanwhile, patients have no other alternative but to wait for the medicine to be made available again.



A senior official of the health department told The Express Tribune roughly 59,000 hepatitis patients from across K-P are registered with the department. Of these, 4,000 cannot afford private treatment and are dependent on the government’s hepatitis control programme.

Tied up

“These patients have suffered badly because interferon is not available at public health centres and they have no other recourse,” he said. According to the official, the health department had paid the entire amount to the company for the medicine but the company has not reimbursed the department for unused vials and cannot provide any more interferon because the PHC’s decision is awaited.

He said the advocate general has not appeared in court for the last two hearings which is further delaying the case. The official appealed to the PHC to reach a decision and then order the company to provide the medication to the health department as soon as possible.

K-P Hepatitis Prevention and Control Programme Assistant Director Dr Kaleemullah Khan told The Express Tribune, “Needy patients in Mardan, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Nowshera and Peshawar are suffering because of the unavailability of interferon.”

Khan said the department has asked the company to reimburse them for unused medicines but to no avail. He also appealed to the PHC to announce a verdict soon so that interferon can once again be made available for poor patients.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2014.