Banned medicines still being used in hospitals – Opposition MP

Thursday, 22 September 2011 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Several medicines banned by the Health Ministry are still being used due to the delay in circulating the relevant circulars, an opposition legislator claimed.

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has told parliament that the Health Ministry’s decision to ban over 31 varieties of medicines has been futile since they are still being given to patients.

Dissanayake has said that sending out relevant circulars to the medical professionals has been delayed.

According to the parliamentarian, some of the antibiotics including the commonly used Amoxicillin have been banned after having been found discoloured.

Some of the other medicines that have been banned as pointed out by Dissanayake are OxyContin, a pain killer given to delivering mothers, some of the antidotes used for snake bites since they were found to be ineffective, and syringes which had black spots.

(www.colombopage.com)