3 pvt hospitals fined for using date-expired medicines
Staff Correspondent
Three private hospitals were fined Tk 50,000 by a mobile court in the city yesterday for using expired medicines and reagents and for not maintaining hygiene in pathological laboratories.The court led by First Class Metropolitan Magistrate Narayan Chandra Debnath carried out raids at Bangladesh Medical College Hospital, Central Hospital and Lab Aid Cardiac Hospital yesterday morning. Officials of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and 12 members of paramilitary BDR and 20 policemen accompanied the court during the raids. They found that all the three hospitals were using expired medicine and testing substances while conditions inside the labs were insanitary. The court realised Tk 20,000 each from Bangladesh Medical College Hospital and Central Hospital and Tk 10,000 from Lab Aid on the spot. The court came across at least 15 life-saving medicines with dates expired at the Central Hospital where the pathological laboratory was anything but hygienic. Besides fining, the court warned that if the hospital is found to have used expired medicines in future, legal action will be taken. Bangladesh Medical College Hospital too was found using expired medicines while conditions were unhygienic in its lab. According to the court, the Lab Aid Hospital has long been using expired reagents and unclean surgical tables and so it was fined Tk 10,000. Earlier, another mobile court had slapped on the hospital a token fine of Tk 1 for the same reason.
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