Quite recently, Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi had instructed his subordinates to rejuvenate the drug testing laboratory in Dumka, but the one closer to home in Ranchi continues to suffer while the service of its contractual staff hangs in the balance due to red-tapism.
The medicine testing wing of Food and Drug Testing laboratory in Namkum has been reduced to a facade after the contracts of its entire technical and administrative staff, including its Director, one lab attendant, three lab assistant and two office staff, expired in March.
The facility has the responsibility of conducting quality tests on medicines and surgical equipment to ensure that sub-standard, or potentially lethal, medication is not supplied to hospitals and patients. A definite call from Health Department on extending their services or other alternative measures remains a far cry from definite.
“The proposal for extension sent to Department was sent three months ago in February but there has been no progress in this matter so far. Whether we will be given an extension or permanent staff will be appointed instead is a mystery to us,” said Satyendra Prasad Sinha, Director cum Public Analyst (Drugs).
The extension proposal was supposed to be presented before Health Minister around one month ago for his say on the matter, but it is still stuck with the officials of the Department, a source disclosed.
“Junior officials have been delaying the progress of the file – they either claim that they have received the proposal yet or their remarks about it are hindering. We have been going from pillar to post in the Secretariat to know what has been decided for us, but in vain,” Sinha said.
Previously receiving close to 80 samples and processing at least 60 of them every month, the drug testing laboratory is presently unable to receive new samples due to legal situations arising from the uncertainty of the staff’s tenure.
“As per The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, we cannot accept new samples until we are notified by the State Government that we work at the drug lab as their employees. The contracts which established this expired in March,” stated Bhola Shankar, one of the staff who worked at the Namkum-based facility.
He further said, “Presently we are coming to the lab to test the pending samples we had since March, which were around 50 in number. Even these are almost done now. Reports, even for these samples, cannot be generated as they have to be approved by our Director, who is also officially not on duty.”
Owing to the situation, the drug inspectors of Ranchi are also lagging in their work of collecting samples. “The samples are taken in case of emergency or if there is some doubt regarding the stock of a pharmacist. As for their test reports, they will be tested when they will be tested,” said Surendra Prasad, Drug Inspector with the responsibility of Ranchi.
“When we began working, more than half the samples we collected failed to pass the scrutiny. This figure was brought down to 12 per cent. It is now the government’s call to make sure that the situation does not changes for worse due to lack of manpower,” Sinha said.