24-05-2025
Dist medicine centre storekeeper suspended, 5 health officials under scrutiny
Indore: The district administration has suspended storekeeper of district medicine centre and proposed similar action against the store in charge on Saturday, a day after a substantial quantity of unused and expired medicines were found in unsanitary conditions on the terrace of the district hospital's medicine store.
SDM Kalyani Pandey confirmed that based on findings after preliminary investigation, collector Asheesh Singh has immediately suspended the storekeeper Satyaprakash Ingle under Rule 9(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services Conduct Rules, 1966. His new headquarters has been designated as the office of the chief medical and health officer, Indore.
Additionally, the collector has forwarded a proposal to divisional commissioner for suspension of Dr Ashutosh Sharma, who is the in charge and medical officer of the district medicine centre.
ADM Rajendra Raghuvanshi has been shouldered with the reponsibility of conducting a detailed investigation into the matter.
The collector's action came after Raghuwanshi on Saturday evening submitted the preliminary investigation's report that pointed to alleged negligence by five health officials, including four doctors and the storekeeper.
On Friday, Raghuvanshi had conducted a surprise inspection of the district hospital's medicine store terrace.
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The inspection revealed a massive stockpile of medicines — packed in cartons and black and blue polythene bags — left exposed to the harsh weather. These drugs, intended for distribution to health centres across the district, were found vulnerable to spoilage.
Contrary to initial claims by health department officials at the scene who attempted to downplay the situation by labelling the drugs as leftover stock from the Covid-19 period, the preliminary probe uncovered a more serious issue.
While some medicines expired in 2024, a significant portion was still usable, with expiry dates extending to 2025 and further. Many of these medicines were manufactured in 2022 and 2023, suggesting they were never dispatched and may have been mishandled or neglected.
The primary investigation, led by a senior administrative official, highlighted two major instances of negligence, including failure to dispose of expired medicines in a timely manner and dumping unexpired medicines in unsanitary conditions on the terrace, leading to their complete spoilage.
Furthermore, officials concerned failed to provide adequate records for the medicines, whether expired or not, that were found dumped on the roof.
It has come to light that the health department established a committee of three doctors last Dec specifically for the disposal of expired medicines. The initial probe indicates negligence on the part of this committee, as well as the store in charge and the storekeeper.
The investigating officer has recommended disciplinary action against these five officials. Additionally, a detailed probe committee was also proposed to investigate the extent of losses and potential negligence by other officials, if any.
