Expired consumables worth 27 euros, 600.000 years old, and discarded medicines worth 70.000 euros, were found at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG).
This data was obtained through an inventory of medicines, medical materials and aids conducted in February. The inventory was requested by the director of the largest Montenegrin healthcare institution. Aleksandar RadovicAccording to information from "Vijesti", the census commission, in addition to representatives of the KCCG, also included officials from the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Fund (FZO).
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", medicines, materials and aids were found in almost all clinics, stored in pantries, utility rooms and stairwells...
The institution did not respond to questions about the specific quantities of funds, the clinics and institutes where they were found, why the medicines and materials were not removed on time, and why requisitions were made if the previously acquired funds were not spent.
"Expired consumable medical supplies for the period from 1998 to 2025, which were not used after their expiration date, were recorded. The estimated value of the expired medical supplies is around 600.000 euros. Discarded medicines for the period of the past two years were recorded, the value of which is estimated at 70.000 euros," they claim in their responses.
Expired medicines and medical supplies, said the KCCG, were found in the warehouses of organizational units and the KCCG warehouse.
"Discarded medicines represent 0,012 percent of last year's expenditure on medical supplies. Discarded medicines represent 0,0046 percent of last year's expenditure on the procurement of medicines," claim the KCCG.
How much money - so many medicines
The Health Insurance Fund (FZO) sent an internal memo to "Montefarm" last week informing them of how much money each hospital in the country has available monthly for medicines and medical supplies, noting that they are obliged to adhere to that budget.
They allegedly did this after it was determined that certain health institutions were overspending the money allocated for the purpose of purchasing medicines.
Asked whether "Montefarm" was ordered to suspend the distribution of medicines to those hospitals that "break through" the monthly budget, the Health Insurance Fund said that they were not aware of any suspension. They remind that the Ministry of Finance has allocated the budget for the Health Insurance Fund that was adopted by the Parliament and that they are obliged to adhere to the allocated funds, and therefore public health institutions within the public system.
"The annual budget of public health institutions is divided into equal monthly amounts that a given institution can spend on the procurement of medicines, medical consumables and aids. If the institution needs a larger amount than the allocated amount, this must be provided through additional funds from the Ministry of Finance and the Government (budget rebalance or budget reserve)," the HIF response states.
The Ministry of Finance allocated around 452,6 million euros to the Fund for the procurement of medicines, although the Health Insurance Fund proposed a budget of 535,4 million euros.
164 million euros have been allocated for the procurement of medicines through "Montefarm" and private pharmacies this year.
We will pay for the destruction abroad again.
It is currently unknown what the future holds for the listed medicines and materials, where they will be stored and destroyed, and how much it will cost the state, since Montenegro does not have a landfill for the treatment of hazardous waste, which includes medical waste, which is considered the most dangerous after radioactive waste.
This was noted and problematized in the Draft State Waste Management Plan for the period from 2025 to 2029.
"Waste producers across the country are forced to allocate significant amounts of money to hire authorized legal entities engaged in the export of hazardous waste, to take care of the waste in accordance with the Law on Waste Management, or to store it 'temporarily'. A facility for temporary storage of hazardous waste is considered necessary, in which hazardous waste collected from the entire country is repackaged and prepared for export, if necessary," it is emphasized.
The last major destruction of expired medicines, of which the public was informed, was carried out in October 2023, when 40 tons of medicines stored in 2003 on the premises of the Red Cross of Montenegro were destroyed. This was done by a private company.
The State Audit Institution (SAI) in its recently published performance audit “The Performance of Medical Waste Management in Montenegro” concluded that waste management in Montenegro faces serious challenges due to the lack of strategic documents, weak institutional oversight, and inadequate data recording.
The audit found that the capacities for disposing of this type of waste are inadequate and that there is no systematic record of its generation and management.
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