Doctors’ union warns of drug oversupply and critical shortages in hospitals

Monday, 13 October 2025 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Medical and Civil Rights Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance Chairman Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa yesterday said that while the Health Ministry and the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) continue to assure that the ongoing medicine shortage will be fully resolved by early 2026, hospitals across the country are now facing an oversupply of nearly 100 drug varieties alongside acute shortages of essential medicines and surgical items.

He said the simultaneous surplus and scarcity of drugs reflect a serious breakdown in administrative and political oversight within the health sector.

According to him, senior Health Ministry officials, including those who served during the tenure of former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, are responsible for the mismanagement, while the present Minister and the SPC must also be held accountable for failing to correct it.

Despite multiple Cabinet decisions to stabilise drug supplies, Dr. Sanjeewa said the situation continues to worsen. Hospitals are currently running short of key items such as IV Noradrenaline, IV Cefotaxime, IV Amikacin, Clarithromycin, Levofloxacin, Adenosine, Sodium Nitroprusside, Verapamil, Isoprenaline, Protamine Sulphate, Promethazine, GTN, and Salbutamol oral solution. Shortages have also been reported in surgical materials including prolene, polypropylene, nylon sutures, and knee implants.

He said dwindling stocks at the Medical Supplies Division and major hospital pharmacies are directly affecting patient care. Allowing regional or emergency purchases, he warned, could lead to financial losses and irregularities.

Dr. Sanjeewa accused the Health Ministry Secretary of enabling such regional procurements for over a year in what he described as an attempt to mask deeper administrative failures. He said the Government still lacks a coordinated and transparent strategy to secure essential medicines at competitive prices.

He further alleged that the SPC and the National Drug Regulatory Authority continue to operate without accountability, contributing to inefficiencies and worsening supply disruptions. The Alliance of Doctors and Civil Rights Trade Unions has raised concerns that these institutions may be bypassing national procurement procedures through selective Cabinet approvals.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the Alliance intends to take legal action over several procurement-related issues that it believes have caused financial and operational harm to the public health system.