Sassoon General Hospital Takes Precautionary Measures Following Counterfeit Drug Scandal | Anand Chaini
Sassoon General Hospital has initiated strict measures to verify its medicine stock following the exposure of counterfeit drugs supplied to Swami Ramanand Teerth Government Hospital in Ambajogai, Beed district.
The hospital administration has decided to test all existing medicines with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure patient safety. The scandal involves banned supplier Vishal Enterprises, which had reportedly supplied medicines to Sassoon as well, necessitating a complete stock review.
This development follows earlier reports of fake and uncertified medicines being distributed to government hospitals in Kolhapur and Nagpur. Unverified antibiotics like ‘Azithromycin 500’ and ‘Amox’ were found in Ambajogai, with similar cases reported in medical colleges in Thane and Wardha.
Stock under scrutiny
While these medicines have been used previously, the remaining stock is under scrutiny to verify their authenticity. The FDA will conduct inspections to confirm whether the medicines are genuine or counterfeit.
Pune FDA Assistant Commissioner Dinesh Khivansara stated that Sassoon has not yet officially informed his department about the issue. However, Dr Yallapa Jadhav, Medical Superintendent of Sassoon Hospital, confirmed that a precautionary list of the medicines has been prepared and shared for FDA inspection.
“This company has supplied medicines which are found to be fake in other districts. Though the medicines currently at Sassoon are not confirmed as counterfeit, we are taking all necessary precautions, and the FDA will inspect the medicines. As of now, we have put a hold on the usage of this medicine,” said Dr. Jadhav.
