Thiruvananthapuram: In a move to tighten monitoring of medicine stocks and prevent financial losses caused by the expiry of medicines, the state govt has constituted a six-member team to carry out regular and surprise inspections at all 14 district drug warehouses and two sub-warehouses of the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL).The initiative is aimed at ensuring proper stock management, timely distribution of medicines to govt hospitals and preventing wastage due to poor inventory management.The team will be headed by retired superintendent of police P Gopakumaran Nair. Its members include health and family welfare department under secretary Biju Kumar T; drugs control department assistant drugs controller Vinod V; In-House drug bank chief pharmacist A Biju; a KMSCL-nominated pharmacist and medical education department retired technical officer and senior consultant engineer (HCD) at HLL Lifecare Ltd, Dr Suresh Kumar G.The team has been specifically tasked with examining the physical stock available at warehouses and verifying whether the quantities correspond with the entries in the drug distribution management system. It will also identify discrepancies between recorded and actual stock positions and assess the management of slow-moving medicines and stocks nearing their expiry dates.The inspections will additionally cover storage conditions, inventory management practices and procedures followed for the disposal of expired medicines. The exercise is expected to identify lapses in procurement, storage and distribution that could result in shortages at hospitals or unnecessary accumulation and wastage of medicines in warehouses.The team leader will submit periodic reports to govt detailing the findings of the inspections, shortcomings identified and recommendations for corrective measures.The move assumes significance amid concerns over medicine availability in govt hospitals, stock management and financial losses arising from medicines remaining unused until their expiry. By introducing periodic as well as surprise inspections, govt intends to strengthen accountability within KMSCL and ensure that medicines procured using public funds reach hospitals in time rather than being wasted in storage.The inspection mechanism is also expected to provide govt with an independent assessment of warehouse operations and help improve the efficiency of the state’s public medicine distribution system.
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