BHUBANESWAR: Cancer patients seeking treatment at the state government-run Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre in Cuttack have been paying lakhs of rupees for medicines marked not-for-sale After TOI tracked the illegal practice and brought it to the notice of the health department, the government sought an explanation from the hospital on Saturday. Not satisfied with the reply, the government on Monday ordered an inquiry into it.This is how it goes on. The cancer patients visiting the hospital are prescribed medicines available in the hospital supply. They are asked to bring it from counters of Niramaya, a flagship scheme of the government providing free medicines to patients. Launched in 2015, the government promises to give more than 500 formulations, including costly cancer drugs, free of cost. The hospital asks patients to pay half the market price for costly chemotherapy drugs. Since it is anyway cheaper than the market price, most patients generally don't have a problem, enquiries by TOI reveals.One of the patients recently questioned why "Rituximab" drugs marked not-for-sale be charged even single rupee. "I was charged Rs 16300 for a Rituximab injection by the Niramaya counter. When questioned, they said the market price is Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000. They have even given me a money receipt," said the patient.When contacted by TOI, the hospital's director Lalatendu Sarangi gave three explanations behind the hospital's move. "We recently started charging a descent sum because affluent patients seeking treatment in Mumbai and other parts of the country had started flying here for free chemotherapy drugs," Sarangi told TOI."Secondly, a valid money receipt is given to the patients. Moreover, These medicines are available free only for below poverty line (BPL) category patients," he said. But he could not explain why all the medicines were marked not-for-sale.Health secretary Pramod Meherda (who is also the ex-officio executive chairman of the hospital's governing body) said a two-member inquiry committee was formed to probe into why medicines marked not-for-sale were being sold. "Managing director of Odisha State Medical Corporation, a state PSU which procures medicines for the government, and a special secretary rank officer of the health department will conduct an inquiry and submit report within a week," Meherda told TOI.The hospital authorities are suspected to have pocketed crores of rupees as single patient has to shell out Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 in around a week of hospitalization. AHRCC is the only tertiary care centre run by the government in Odisha, which witnesses average 150 patients daily.

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