Notwithstanding the efforts of the government and the district officials to streamline the supply of essential drugs to cater to the needs of the COVID-19 patients, some private hospitals are allegedly creating artificial scarcity and cashing in on the situation.
A private notified hospital has allegedly charged ₹4.50 lakh for 12 vials of Remdesivir injections for a man and his son.
This injection is used to treat moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 and the price fixed by the government for each vial(100 mg) is a mere ₹2,500. The patient was aware that he was being cheated but that was not the time for him to argue with the hospital administration and risk the life of his son and that of his own.
The COVID hospitals and wards, being out of bounds for family members and relatives, seem to be giving an added advantage to the such hospitals to carry on their clandestine activities.
A private hospital in the city was caught by the authorities recently for trying to divert Remdesivir injections to the black market through its staff.
The drug was written in the prescriptions, though it was not required for the patients concerned, and the injection vials were shifted out of the hospital for sale at high rates. This seems to be only the tip of the iceberg, with patients telling their near and dear ones of similar practices at some other hospitals. The relatives of patients are also against lodging complaints with the authorities as they fear that such a move could result in the patients not getting proper treatment.
‘Stocks available’
The officials, however, say that adequate stocks of Remdesivir injections are available and being supplied to the private empanelled hospitals, depending on their requirement. To curb such malpractices, the State government has recently brought out a SOP (standard operation procedure) for procurement of Remdesivir through the office of drug controller. “On April 27, we received 2,695 vials of Remdesivir and 1,274 injections were distributed to 29 notified hospitals in the district, on the basis of allotment made by the District Medical and Health Officer, Visakhapatnam. The situation is being monitored on a daily basis. At present, there are 46 notified private hospitals, and if the district administration notifies some more hospitals, they can be supplied the injections,” K. Rajitha, Assistant Director, Drugs Control Administration, told The Hindu on Wednesday.
“Visakhapatnam district has been allotted another 1,152 Remdesivir injections, which are expected to arrive by Wednesday night,” she adds.
