The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has formed a task force to check and control the misuse of Remdesivir injection in private hospitals. A deputy municipal commissioner-level officer will head it.
The civic body has been getting complaints that private hospitals are misusing the allotted Remdesivir injection and also asking patients’ families to manage the injection. The civic body received such complaints from various sources.
“At present, there is a shortage of Remdesivir injections and we are getting complaints of misuse of injections by some hospitals. The demand, distribution and use of Remdesivir injection have been decided by the Thane District Collectorate and the necessary supply of injection is being provided through them,” said a senior civic official.
He added that it is the responsibility of the hospital to make the Remdesivir injection available through the District Collector's Office and to follow the guidelines given by the Maharashtra State Task Force and ICMR for patients who need it. Abhijeet Bangar directed that no hospital should give a prescription to the patient or the relatives of the patient for injection of Remedesivir.
The role of the task force is to visit the hospitals as per the complaint received or as per the schedule and check whether the stock and use of the Remdesivir injection supplied to the hospital is matching. This will ensure that the injection is used only for the patient who requires it. And it will also check whether the name of the patient for whom it is used is written on the empty bottle. The caps of the Remedisivir injections are to be preserved and will also be verified by the task force team.
Necessary planning is being done at the government level through the Collectorate so that the Covid patients who need the injection can get it within the stipulated time.