There is a shortage of prescribed essential medicine for the treatment of drug victims in Srinagar city.
Reliable sources said that drug victims either admitted at deaddiction centres or being taken care of by their families are finding it hard to get the prescribed medicine.
Official sources said that last month District Magistrate Srinagar Aijaz Asadh while presiding over a meeting stressed on ensuring the availability of medicines to drug-affected patients at authorized medical stores on proper prescription duly signed and sealed by the concerned Doctor.
The health official present in the meeting admitted that there is non-availability of the prescribed essential medicine for treatment of drug victims at medical stores.
A chemist candidly said that he doesn’t keep medicine given to drug victims at his shop.
“I don’t want to put myself in trouble. You know there are clear-cut directions from the top that
the medical stores must maintain the proper register or database of sold medicine and the Drug Control Department would audit the prescriptions at medical stores. During the audit, the officials repeatedly ask questions about the sale of such drugs, so to avoid the problem, we don’t keep such drugs,” he said.
Notably, the Drug Control Department has been instructed to cancel the registration of those chemists who violate laid down guidelines under the Drugs & Cosmetic Act.