Thakurgaon Diabetic Hospital
Patients suffer as druggists assoc bans fair price sale
Around 4000 diabetic patients of Swasthaseba Hospital in the town have to buy insulin and other medicines for higher prices from outside as Thakurgaon Chemists and Druggists Association allegedly forced medical representatives to stop supplying the items to the hospital pharmacy hospital three months ago.
Authorities set up the pharmacy inside the diabetic hospital, facilitating the patients to buy medicines for fair prices, said hospital sources and patients.
The hospital sells insulin to its patients at Tk 1,000 a vial while pharmacies in the town sell it for Tk 1,100 to 1400.
But the drug association forced stopping medicine supply by representatives of different pharmaceutical companies to the pharmacy at Swasthaseba Hospital in last April without showing any reason.
The association members even manhandled a few medical representatives when they went to supply insulin and other drugs to the hospital.
Following a memorandum submitted by diabetic patients to the deputy commissioner (DC) for taking steps to resolve the problem, the district administration arranged a negotiation at the conference room of the DC office on July 20.
Leaders of Thakurgaon Chemists and Druggists Association, officials of Swasthaseba Hospital, ruling party leaders of the district and local journalists attended the meeting with DC Muhammad Shahiduzzaman in the chair.
In the meeting, it was decided that the medical representatives could supply insulin and other drugs to Swasthaseba Hospital.
Even after the settlement, medicine supply to the hospital is yet to resume, Dr Ekramul Hossain Swapan, executive director of Swasthaseba Hospital, told this correspondent on Saturday.
"The drug store owners in the town have formed a syndicate to prevent the medical representatives from supplying insulin to the hospital. The syndicate is out to make exorbitant profit by preventing the patients from buying medicines for fair prices at the hospital pharmacy," said Abul Khayer, 75, a diabetic patient of Hallpara in Thakurgaon town.
When contacted, Azizur Rahman, president of Thakurgaon district Chemists and Druggists Association, said, "The problem was resolved through arbitration and I have already instructed the representatives to supply medicines to the drug store of the hospital."
Meanwhile, 2-3 companies have resumed 'conditional' supply of a few drugs in the last couple of days, pharmacy sources said.
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