Minister pledges accountability in destroyed medicine scandal

Health Minister Michael Damianos pledged on Monday to get to the bottom of the medicine scandal investigation, which cost the government €850,000 with hundreds of pharmaceuticals completely destroyed.

In an interview to Philenews Damianos said the ongoing investigation has two parts. The first concerns the rental agreement between the health ministry and a private individual, while the second element focuses on the way the warehouse was managed.

“We do not have any conclusions yet. I personally am studying the fact-finding report on the matter, as is the auditor general.”

He underlined it is not an easy case, with a lot of evidence to assess however “we can’t not have anyone be held accountable.”

What remains to be seen is whether the responsibilities are collective or individual, Damianos stressed.

“When we have completed the study of the factual report and have a clear and substantiated picture, we will decide the direction or directions in which to move.”

The warehouse was leased by the government for €6,600 a year and then subleased back to the state at more than 20 times the price, at €135,000. Damianos received the fact-finding report earlier this month.

Additionally, the conditions of the warehouse are also part of the investigation, after the premises were flooded to a cost of €850,000, he said.

“It concerns the way the warehouse was managed after the health ministry was aware of the existing problems. Were there efforts to resolve them? Why did we not we fix any of these problems?

Damianos said the ministry is in contact with pharmaceutical companies to replace any of the destroyed medicine at a smaller or no cost. “We will see what these efforts will yield soon.”

As for any insurance for the medicine, he specified that health-ministry owned medication is generally not insured. The damages on these medications amount to €50,000 he said.

Damianos underlined that the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) and state health services (Okypy) were notified multiple times by the health ministry to take “the necessary action” over the medication they had stored at the health ministry warehouse.

Okypy has been called to find its own warehouse by June 30 and transfer its items accordingly. HIO is working towards having import companies store any products, the minister said.