Kathmandu, November 19

Joint teams of the Ministry of Health, Department of Health Services, Department of Drug Administration, District Public Health Office and police have sealed 37 clinics and pharmacies in Kathmandu Valley in the past six days.

The teams carried out inspection and monitoring of 32 clinics and pharmacies in Kathmandu and Lalitpur yesterday and sealed seven of them for operating without fulfilling requirements. According to a press release issued by the ministry, many clinics and pharmacies were found running illegally. The owners of the clinics and pharmacies have been asked to clarify why legal action should not be initiated against them. The ministry informed that the concerned authorities had launched further investigations.

Some clinics and pharmacies were found selling drugs without hiring trained and certified pharmacists while others were operating without renewing their licence or registering with the Department of Drug Administration. The authorities have also been directed to expedite action against quacks and clinics found selling prescription, expired and banned drugs or operating illegally.

According to the ministry, the monitoring and inspection also aims to prevent misuse or abuse of drugs and allied pharmaceutical substances and control the sale, distribution, storage and consumption of unsafe drugs. Altogether 607 hospitals, clinics and polyclinics have been registered in the Valley, said the ministry.