Ministry withdraws medicine batch over quality

Iman Abdullah Al Ali, Staff Reporter

A batch of Calcium Gluconate 10% Ampoule, which supplies the body with calcium, will be withdrawn from both the public and private health sectors due to quality problems. The decision comes as per an order by the Ministry of Health and Community Protection. In a circular issued last Sunday the Ministry clarified it had discovered a problem with the quality of batch No. 4402461 of the product and that it contained white deposits. The product was also not registered with the drug administration. As per the order, health care practitioners will now not be allowed to circulate the batch. All pharmacies have also been asked to stop providing the batch and return it to the supplier with immediate effect. The Ministry also said in the event a product user experiences any side effects, they must report the matter immediately.

In April, the Ministry of Health and Community Protection withdrew a batch of the medical product “Dopamine HCL 200mg/5ml Ampoule” because it did not pass the product particle test.

Dopamine is a drug which stimulates the heart and has effects on the blood vessels.

In detail, the Ministry issued a circular to health-care practitioners in the private health sector on the recall of the product of Martindale pharmaceuticals, UK.

The Ministry confirmed that the results of laboratory analysis demonstrated that the product No. 94758 did not pass the optical particle test.

The Ministry also called upon the manufacturer to withdraw the batch from the public and private health sectors, instructed all healthcare practitioners not to use the batch, and asked all pharmacies to stop selling them and return to the supplier.

Recently, the Ministry of Community Development, MoCD, launched four interactive channels under a new initiative named ‘Taaluf’ to provide family counselling for free to all UAE community members.

In a statement, the Ministry said that the launch of the counselling initiative aims to mitigate the psychosocial and mental health impacts of COVID-19 on individuals during home quarantine and social distancing.

Commenting on the announcement, Hessa Tahlak, Assistant Under-Secretary for Social Development at the Ministry, said that the ‘Taaluf’ family counselling initiative; with its four new interactive channels, promotes the stability, cohesion and coherence of the family, the foundation of any community, and seeks to achieve a better family reality and a more beautiful social life. It focuses on interaction and dialogue to disseminate knowledge, guidance and make consultation easier and faster, reaching out to all members of the UAE community.