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‘I have launched a probe into drug purchase’ – Dr. Bheri Ramsaran
Even as the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) has called on the Auditor General to provide a value for money audit, Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran has announced that he has launched an investigation into the drugs purchased by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
Health Minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran
Dr. Ramsaran said that he has deliberately sought “not to add noise” to the public debate which has mounted over what appears to be ‘exorbitant payments’ for drugs purchased from the New GPC.
New GPC falls under Queens Atlantic Investment Incorporated, (QAII) which is headed by Dr. Ranjisinhji Ramroop, and according to Dr. Ramsaran, he (the Minister) has since launched an investigation into the drug purchases between these two entities.
The Health Ministry paid $1,909 for a tube of Ketoconazole cream which is retailed for $80, as well as another purchase of a $600 contraceptive, for which it pays some $8000.
Dr. Ramsaran told this publication yesterday that he is currently assembling his procurement team, his Permanent Secretary Leslie Cadogan and other personnel, to launch a widespread investigation into the drug purchases as well as the overall policies guiding such arrangements among other pertinent issues, raised in the media.
“We are looking at it,” the Health Minister assured.
Confronted with the Hospital’s admission that an “overwhelmingly, overpriced” proposal would be separated from the list of items being procured, Dr. Ramsaran sought to explain that while the publicly available information suggests that the prices may be high, it must also be taken into consideration, whether the item for which a supplier asks too much, could be sourced elsewhere.
The Minister did say that he could not at this stage give any definitive pronouncements on what informed the decision to allow for the payments to New GPC. This information is expected to be supplied following the probe.
Asked about International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) or any other local drug dealer, which could have supplied the commodity for which New GPC got the contract, Dr. Ramsaran said that he is not aware if the company ever submitted a proposal.
He also drew reference to the pre-qualification of suppliers, but confronted with the multi-year tenure of such arrangements with the New GPC, Dr. Ramsaran said that it was a decision taken by the Administration “some time back.” He promised that “this too will also be reviewed.”
The last pre-qualification for the New GPC, which has since supplied billions of dollars in drugs to the Ministry of Health, was in 2010.
The Minister did seek to point out that there is a risk that the Health Ministry faces when procuring “cheap drugs” in that it could very well be “falsified.”
He drew reference to an instance when the Health Ministry was confronted with the issue of “falsified Malaria drugs”. Since then it has always been wary of cheap drugs.
Dr. Ramsaran said that this issue was only recently highlighted at a World Health Organization (WHO) forum which he attended and it was underscored that falsified drugs are even penetrating first world countries with advanced economies and procurement systems.
He sought to explain, too, as did the Hospital in its defence of the payments made to the New GPC, that the objective is to strike a bargain with the drug supplier, where the overall package is favourable.
The Hospital which is headed by Michael Khan, said that the Ministry of Health buys in a package, but if a product is “overwhelmingly, overpriced” then that item is removed from the list of items being procured.
The Health Ministry has been paying $8000 for a vial of the contraceptive “Depo Provera” which is retailed for $600.
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