{"id":157490,"date":"2026-07-26T07:25:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T14:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=157490"},"modified":"2026-07-26T07:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T14:25:41","slug":"full-list-of-23-private-hospitals-laboratories-fined-over-expired-medicines-chemicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/07\/26\/full-list-of-23-private-hospitals-laboratories-fined-over-expired-medicines-chemicals\/","title":{"rendered":"Full list of 23 private hospitals, laboratories fined over expired medicines, chemicals"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong>Dr. Sarath Obeysekera<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-newswire wp-block-embed-newswire\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"CXj5mnKmoS\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newswire.lk\/2026\/07\/23\/full-list-of-23-private-hospitals-laboratories-fined-over-expired-medicines-chemicals\/\">Full list of 23 private hospitals, laboratories fined over expired medicines, chemicals<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Full list of 23 private hospitals, laboratories fined over expired medicines, chemicals&#8221; &#8212; Newswire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newswire.lk\/2026\/07\/23\/full-list-of-23-private-hospitals-laboratories-fined-over-expired-medicines-chemicals\/embed\/#?secret=zpC0AIpb6o#?secret=CXj5mnKmoS\" data-secret=\"CXj5mnKmoS\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Patients Have a Right to Know What Medicines They Are Taking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent reports and discussions about the quality and regulation of medicines in Sri Lanka have once again highlighted the urgent need to strengthen our pharmaceutical regulatory system. While investigations into specific allegations must be left to the relevant authorities, one issue is visible to every ordinary citizen who visits a government hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many state hospitals, patients receive tablets dispensed loosely in small paper packets without any label indicating the generic name, brand name, dosage, manufacturer, expiry date, or the purpose of the medicine. Poor and less educated patients simply trust the system and consume these medicines without knowing what they are taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This practice raises several concerns. If a patient develops an allergic reaction or side effect, it becomes difficult for the patient or another doctor to identify the medicine responsible. Elderly patients taking multiple medications can easily become confused. Family members are often unable to help because there is no information accompanying the tablets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another concern is accountability. Many patients, particularly those from rural or low-income backgrounds, are either unaware of where to complain or are reluctant to raise concerns about medicines or treatment. Even when they suspect something is wrong, they often remain silent because they fear they will not receive proper care if they complain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have also heard from people with family members working in hospitals that there are occasions when patients are unaware of their rights or do not know the appropriate authority to approach regarding concerns about medicines or healthcare services. This underlines the need for a more transparent and patient-friendly complaints mechanism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sri Lanka should consider introducing several reforms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Every dispensed medicine should be labelled with at least the generic name, strength, dosage instructions, and expiry date.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Patients should receive a simple printed list of all medicines prescribed to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hospital pharmacies should educate patients on the purpose and possible side effects of commonly prescribed medicines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A confidential and accessible complaints system should be available in every hospital.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and the Ministry of Health should continue strengthening quality assurance, procurement oversight, and post-market surveillance to ensure only safe and effective medicines reach patients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Most doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and healthcare workers in Sri Lanka serve the public with dedication under difficult conditions. They deserve recognition for their commitment. However, good healthcare also requires transparency, accountability, and informed patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medicines save lives only when patients know what they are taking and can trust that every tablet has been procured, stored, dispensed, and monitored according to the highest standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is time for Sri Lanka to strengthen controls over the pharmaceutical supply chain, eliminate opportunities for corruption or undue influence, and ensure that patient safety remains the highest priority. Every citizen\u2014rich or poor\u2014has the right to know what medicine they are taking and to receive safe, quality healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regards<br><br>Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Sarath Obeysekera Patients Have a Right to Know What Medicines They Are Taking Recent reports and discussions about the quality and regulation of medicines in Sri Lanka have once again highlighted the urgent need to strengthen our pharmaceutical regulatory system. While investigations into specific allegations must be left to the relevant authorities, one issue [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157491,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157490\/revisions\/157491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}