LAHORE, April 20: Some 5,000 injections meant for poor patients visiting Jinnah Hospital for MRI test with contrast have expired in April causing a loss of Rs9 million to the exchequer, it is learnt.

The Omniscan injection, one of the five Gadolinium-based injections, is used during Magnetic Resonance Imagine (MRI) with contrast.

A source said a badge of 8,000 injections was acquired in bulk, each at the cost Rs1,800 by the then purchase committee of Jinnah Hospital in the beginning of 2008 exclusively for the poor patients visiting the health facility for MRI investigation.

A major chunk of the drug was not given to the patients within the designated period and resultantly 5,000 injections expired in the first week of the current month, showing negligence either on the part of the hospital administration or the radiology department.

The radiology department senior doctors, however, termed the hospital administration responsible for the gross mismanagement claiming that the then purchase committee had not taken them into confidence or sought consultation from them before making such a deal for the drug.

The source claimed that the hospital administration had been informed time and again about the ‘irregularity’ in the purchase of a big chunk of injections but no probe was launched so far.

“The radiology department doctors were not consulted at the time when the purchase committee struck the deal in 2008,” Associate Prof Dr Amir Nadeem told Dawn when contacted.

He said a quantity of 1,000 Omniscan injections was enough annually to accommodate the patients visiting the health facility for MRI.

An average 20 patients came to the radiology department for MRI test daily, he said adding that of them 8-10 were advised MRI with contrast only.

“An adult or healthy patient is administered 10 to 15cc dose of Omniscan injection and each injection carries 20cc dose. Similarly, an injection can be used for at least two patients,” he said.

So the badge of 8,000 injections purchased by the hospital administration was many times more than the number of patients, Dr Nadeem claimed.

Resultantly, he said, around 5,000 Omniscan injections expired in April causing a huge loss to the exchequer.

Jinnah’s radiology department head Prof Dr Nasir Raza Zaidi told this reporter he had time and again informed the hospital administration that a huge number of injections would expire soon but no action was taken so far.

“I informed former and the incumbent medical superintendents about the expected expiry of a large quantity of the drug in writing,” Zaidi claimed adding that the purchase deal was made some months before his joining the department as its head in June 2008.

However, both the above-mentioned senior doctors of the radiology department were unaware of the then purchase committee members.

Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Javed Akram termed it a gross negligence saying that a probe will be launched to fix responsibility for the negligence.

He said he had joined the institute in 2009 while the deal was made in 2008. However, loss would also be recovered from those who would be held responsible after the probe.