Low grade medical supplies freely available in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 June 1999, 04:32 GMT]
Medical supplies that have not undergone quality control and which have not been approved by the Medical Board can be bought freely in the Jaffna Peninsula, said sources in the Jaffna Health Department.

A team headed by the Food and Medical Examiner Mr. T. Mahadevan, observed the sale of low-grade varieties of medicine types in Point Pedro, Chavakacheri and Jaffna Town, and conducted random checks at various stores.

The team destroyed confiscated medical supplies that failed the quality control requirements.

It was learnt that the low-grade medical supplies were being bought at cheap prices in the Colombo market and were being sold in Jaffna.

The Inspection team also discovered several medical supplies with labels that did not contain the identification of the manufacturer, said sources close to the investigation.

The Health department pointed out several cases where medical supplies were being sold well past the listed expiration dates.