Under Section 4 of the J&K Right to Information Act, 2009, a Public Authority is under statutory obligation of complying with the directive from the State Information Commissioner. A directive issued by the State Information Commissioner desires the Commissioner/ Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, Principal Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu and Director Health Services Jammu to ensure that list of all the medicines including the life saving drugs available to the patients free of cost in the hospitals/health centres are displayed at prominent places for the benefit of the general public within a period of one month under an intimation to the Commission. These instructions have come in the background of a PIL complaining that drugs including life saving drugs supplied to the Government hospitals and health centres were being mismanaged and stolen. This has been the long standing complaint of many patients. Under the new instructions the hospitals and health centres have to display at prominent places the lists of the drugs available for the patients in Government hospitals and dispensaries. Of course this should help poor patients to know if they can be provided with free medicines. Essentially this is a step to curb the tendency of pilferage and stealing of expensive drugs which poor patients cannot afford. We hope the authorities in Government medical colleges, hospitals dispensaries and health centres will strictly follow the instructions and display proper list which will need regular updating.
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