The management of a private hospital in Kegalle has been fined Rs. 520,000 after being found guilty of using and storing expired medical supplies and chemicals and of overcharging patients for a blood test.
The Consumer Affairs Authority filed three charges before the Kegalle Magistrate’s Court following a special raid on July 24. The hospital management pleaded guilty to all three, and the magistrate imposed the fine.
What inspectors found
CAA officials found the hospital had charged Rs. 500 for a Full Blood Count test against a controlled price of Rs. 400.
In the hospital laboratory, officials found 20 packs of expired HCV rapid test cassettes along with expired chemicals used for clinical system analysers, including system cleaning solution and acid solution.
A further 23 packs of expired UNOLOK single-use hypodermic needles had been displayed for sale at the hospital pharmacy.
The hospital was not named in either report.
Part of a wider enforcement run
The authority urged the public to report private hospitals or laboratories found using expired medicines, chemicals or equipment, or charging above approved rates, on 1977 during office hours.
The prosecution is the latest in a sustained CAA campaign in the health sector. The authority fined medical institutions in Jaffna earlier this month, brought a case over expired ayurvedic medicines, raided unregistered medicine sellers in Havelock Town and reported 471 pharmacy raids in a recent operation.
Sources: Ada Derana, Hiru News.
