Millions of rupees worth injections expire at National Cardiac Institute

Thousands of morphine ampoules worth millions of rupees have reportedly expired at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), raising questions over the hospital’s medicine procurement and stock management.

According to sources, around 3,000 ampoules of morphine have expired, resulting in the loss of a substantial quantity of the controlled medicine. Morphine is used to relieve severe pain.

Sources said the hospital purchased 6,000 morphine ampoules in 2023, meaning nearly half of the stock has expired.

The development has raised questions about why such a large quantity of the medicine remained unused until its expiry. Morphine is a highly sensitive and legally controlled drug supplied to hospitals following approval from the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and the health department.

Hospital administration said the procurement, supply and return of medicines were governed by specific procedures. It added that the medicines had been imported from abroad and were intended for use under a prescribed protocol.

According to the administration, the expired medicines are being returned to the supplier, which will provide replacement stock. The hospital will not have to make an additional payment for the replacement medicines.

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