Legislators have announced plans to investigate the circumstances under which 2322 kilograms of drugs, valued at Shs121,238,895, expired in the stores of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital.
This occurred despite patients being turned away and instructed to buy medicines from private clinics during the same period.
Gorreth Namugga, Vice Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, while meeting officials from Mubende Hospital—summoned to respond to queries raised in the December 2023 Auditor General Report—emphasized that the hospital faced drug stock outs due to late deliveries from the National Medical Stores. She noted that some of the drugs delivered late also expired and were subsequently destroyed.
“We are going to investigate the source of this problem. If these medicines were delivered to you under normal conditions and the expiration was due to your negligence or failure to supervise your staff, you will be held accountable for the loss. This money will be repaid by you.
“Therefore, you must provide all necessary information and present your case clearly. We will also conduct further investigations with the National Medical Stores (NMS) to determine where the issue originated. If the fault lies with Mubende Hospital, you will be responsible for these expired drugs,” said Namugga.
“We pay taxes for the purchase of drugs, which are delivered to Mubende and then locked in stores, often expiring due to failure to distribute them to patients. You must explain why you have expired drugs amounting to 2322 kilograms. The problem with expired drugs is that we lose money in multiple ways: purchasing them and then disposing of them. After securing funds to buy the drugs, additional money is needed for disposal,” added Namugga.
Grania Nakazibwe, Mubende District Woman Representative, urged the Committee to probe the drug delivery issues in Mubende. She highlighted that constant stock outs have negatively affected access to health services, noting, “The fact that NMS doesn’t deliver on time actually affects the quality of service provided to the people. This is why we see so many private facilities emerging around regional referral hospitals, filling the gap created by the delayed delivery of medicines.”
Emmanuel Batibwe, Director of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, informed the Committee that the facility has been struggling to maintain adequate stocks of various medicines, primarily due to shortfalls in the quantities received versus the orders placed. This challenge is further compounded by delays in NMS deliveries.
He also attributed the large volumes of expired drugs to changes in the treatment protocols for HIV and Tuberculosis patients, which led many health facilities to abandon the older lines of treatment.
“Overall, we experience stock outs of many items, and even when deliveries are made, they run out faster than expected. This situation often forces patients to procure drugs outside the hospital. Changes in our drug regimen, especially for treating HIV and Tuberculosis, resulted in the expiry of certain drugs. When there are changes, these medications cannot be used nationally,” said Dr. Batibwe.