Twelve people lost their sight after taking medicine from Nuwara Eliya Hospital.

According to the latest report issued by the National Audit Office, a stock of medicines, surgical instruments, and laboratory materials worth over 421 crore rupees, supplied to government hospitals, was removed from use in 2024 due to being substandard.

The audit report states that the reasons for the substandard quality of this stock of medicines include the presence of visible particles, non-compliance with British and United States pharmacopoeial specifications, violation of labeling guidelines, discoloration, tablet breakage, presence of glass fragments, and adverse reactions. It further indicates that these removed medical supplies include medicines for bacterial infections, skin diseases, mental illnesses, diabetes, liver diseases, as well as antibiotics.

Meanwhile, a stock of medicines worth nearly 137 crore rupees was also temporarily suspended from use in 2024 due to being substandard. Furthermore, the report reveals that a loss of nearly 20 crore rupees was incurred due to the non-distribution of 2.5 million expired "blood glucose strips" to hospitals and the additional expenditure on local purchases instead.

The audit division reveals that due to the use of substandard medicines, 12 out of 17 patients at Nuwara Eliya Hospital have permanently lost vision in one eye, and three other patients have lost more than 70 percent of their vision. Although a compassionate allowance of 1.5 crore rupees was paid to these 17 patients in 2025 based on a Cabinet decision, the report further points out that no investigation has been conducted or compensation provided to date for patients in other hospitals affected by the use of these medicines.

The audit report further states that the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation has not included the necessary provisions in procurement documents to obtain compensation from companies supplying substandard medicines, nor has it taken any steps to blacklist such suppliers.