Fewer drugs collected for quality tests, reveals RTI

Fewer drug samples are being collected from Delhi government hospitals for quality testing purposes after the Aam Aadmi Party formed the government in Delhi, reveals a right to information (RTI) reply by the drugs control department.

Forty-seven samples were collected from the pharmacies of government-run hospital between April 2015 and January 2016. Eight of these samples were declared as “not of standard quality”, while 12 samples are yet to be tested.

The AAP government came to power in the February 2015 with a promise of strengthening the public health infrastructure. In over 100 mohalla clinics and 38 Delhi government-run hospitals, essential drugs are made available to patients free of charge.

Fifty-two samples were collected between April 2014 to March 2015 and 82 samples were collected between April 2013 and March 2014 from pharmacies of public hospitals, according to the RTI response that came early this month. Eight samples each failed meet the quality standards in the fiscal year 2014-15 and 2013-14.

According to the drug control department, none of the samples collected from 2012-2017 were declared as spurious. The department regulates manufactures of drugs and cosmetics and sales of drugs.

It also collected drug samples from wholesalers and manufacturing units and agencies involved in the sale and purchase of drugs for quality testing purposes.

In response to Delhi resident Rajhans Bansal’s queries, the department said out of the 218 samples collected from retail and wholesale outlets from April 2016 to January 2017, 109 samples met the quality standards, 9 samples fell short of quality standards and 100 samples are yet to be tested. Ninety-nine samples were collected in the fiscal year 2015-2016.