The Rennes University Hospital has recognized that failures have wrongly led to the destruction of drugs. The error is counted in hundreds of thousands of euros.
“Better late than never,” the saying goes. In a press release, the Rennes University Hospital admitted that there were malfunctions in its pharmaceutical process, and that its premises “obviously” were undersized. With the key, crates full of still valid drugs completely destroyed. A scandal denounced a few days ago by the SUD-Santé Social union because of the hundreds of thousands of euros wasted.
Faced with this accusation, the CHU Pontchaillou now indicates “to put in place corrective actions as and when the dysfunctions noted while maintaining the pressure on the suppliers. ”
Why actor returns to this affair which shocked public opinion.
Crates full of cremated drugs
June 7 is in the columns of the daily The Parisian that trade unionists have drawn up a severe report concerning the functioning of this Breton establishment. According to them, several tons of goods have been incinerated over the past four years.
At least twice a month, several boxes would be placed for destruction in the containers for expired products. “We leave in the evening and, when we come back the next day, there is nothing left. Some bottles represent one month’s salary for a contractual employee. Imagine when there are 10 that disappear! It’s very hard to live with from an ethical and psychological point of view, ”explained an employee of the hospital pharmacy, who had wished to remain anonymous.
Duplicate orders, broken software …
To understand, it is the dysfunctions of the system adopted by the pharmacy in 2010 that explain this waste. With problems that would start with the delivery of drugs and medical devices in the morning. According to the unions, providers use pallets that are not recognized by the Magmatic robot which then stores them in the basement. Pharmacy agents are therefore obliged to repackage the goods on suitable pallets, in line with European standards, which delays the sorting and dispatch of the products to the departments. The difficulties then continue when it comes time to take in the orders. The computer system works with no less than three different pieces of software which break down regularly.
In the end, as the health services do not see their medication arriving, they place a second emergency order and end up receiving double their needs. Except that products returned to the pharmacy are not returned to the system. Because it requires a long work: ten minutes per product, even for the smallest blister pack, with a cost in paper outputs and labels sometimes higher than the returned drug ”, justify the unions. Conclusion, duplicates in the orders, a surplus of drugs which the establishment must get rid of, and in the end therefore an enormous waste.
An unwelcome scandal in an economic context
A shocking story in a particular context. The Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, has indeed recently unveiled, in an interview with the daily The echoes, the outline of its plan of 10 billion euros in savings for health insurance. Among the axes of its roadmap, a merciless fight against the consumption of unsuitable drugs. Expected result: 2.5 billion euros in savings by 2017. Here, these are not unsuitable drugs, since they are thrown away even before being consumed!
.
