Former and current employees of the Pharmaceutical Services of the Ministry of Health have become the focus of attention after the publication by Phileleftheros of a report concerning the history of the warehouses, which were flooded on 18th March, resulting in the destruction of tens of thousands of drug packages.
The situation escalated with former Pharmaceutical Services officer Anna Pafitou making public statements online, hinting at psychological pressure and threats she received from her superiors to issue suitability certificates and referring to “scandalous” inspections in the pharmaceutical warehouses.
In terms of the investigation, Health Minister Michalis Damianos appears determined to reach specific conclusions, and as we understand from the Presidential side, there is a clear directive to the Minister for full transparency.
Michalis Damianos had stated to Phileleftheros on Sunday that “someone must be responsible in this case,” clarifying that “what remains to be seen is whether the responsibilities are individual or collective.”
Yesterday, several former and current employees of the Pharmaceutical Services, who participated in or were aware of the procedures followed from the day the specific asset was rented until today, communicated with Phileleftheros, each providing their own version.
However, only former Pharmaceutical Services officer Anna Pafitou, who also served as the head inspector of Good Manufacturing Practice and Distribution Rules, publicly and by name, commented.
Pafitou left clear hints against the Ministry in general and specifically against the former director of Pharmaceutical Services in her Facebook posts.
In her first post, she commented on Phileleftheros’ article and the part of the report referring to letters she sent concerning the suitability of the warehouses.
The report also mentions a certificate written in English, which Pafitou signed, informing “any interested party” about the suitability of the warehouses.
In her post, she stated:
“Regarding the reference made in my name that I supposedly issued a letter in English to every interested party stating that the warehouses met the proper storage conditions for drugs, I must clarify that this was NOT a letter but a standardised certificate requested by foreign drug suppliers (according to European legislation) to supply them with drugs, and that’s why it was in English.
Has anyone considered how an A13 scale employee can refuse a director who systematically exercised psychological violence against her (I have evidence and the General Auditor knows it too) and resist the psychological extortion such as: ‘If you don’t issue the paper, hospitals will be left without drugs, cancer patients will be left without medication.'”
Shortly after, Pafitou returned with another post referring to the report issued in 2019 after an inspection conducted in the pharmaceutical warehouses. The report records the unsuitability of the asset and makes serious remarks.
“(…) The so-called inspection conducted in December 2019 by my subordinate officers from the Pharmaceutical Services (under my supervision) was a sham (a set-up) to legalise this mess. They wanted to quickly issue a wholesale license for the Ministry’s drug warehouse. I thwarted their plans because I put a stop to it and didn’t let them legalise this sham. After that, in early January 2020, the then head of Pharmaceutical Services transferred me (on a trivial pretext) from being responsible for G.M.P. & D. inspection to pharmacy inspection,” Ms. Pafitou wrote, not failing to leave hints also against the current Health Minister, claiming that after her public statements (the day after the disclosure of the disaster by “F”) “the Health Minister DID NOT call me to his office to give my own testimony.”
As Pafitou clarified to Phileleftheros, by “sham” she meant “the way instructions were given to my subordinate officers without informing me.” With the findings of the two officers, she said, “I fully agreed.”
The relevant documents included in the report of events state the following:
The first letter, dated 17th June 2016 and signed by Pafitou, who was the head inspector for correct manufacturing practices and distribution, concluded by stating:
“I believe it is imperative to improve the operation of pharmaceutical warehouses and modernise them to meet contemporary standards. Therefore, I believe that pharmaceutical services should conduct a cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment to find the most appropriate solution to address the issue as soon as possible.”
The certificate referred to by Pafitou is dated 2nd May 2018, and she signed it in her capacity at the time.
The last letter bearing Pafitou’s signature accompanies the report following an inspection conducted on the pharmaceutical warehouses.
Signing as “for the Director of Pharmaceutical Services,” Pafitou addressed the head of the Purchasing and Procurement Department of the Ministry of Health, stating: “I refer to your application for a wholesale license submitted on 22/11/2019 and the inspection carried out on your premises on the same day (22nd November 2019). I enclose the inspection report. Please respond within 20 days from the receipt of our letter and submit a timeline with corrective measures. If deemed necessary, a re-inspection may be conducted to verify the rectification of the observations.”
Others are preparing responses to the matters mentioned in the report.
The content of the report seems to have caused general unrest. Each entity mentioned in the summary note has begun preparations for potential responses.
Among these involved parties are the two semi-governmental health organizations, Health Insurance Organisation and State Health Services Organisation, on behalf of which the Ministry of Health holds drug stocks in the mentioned pharmaceutical warehouses.
Regarding the Health Committee of the Parliament, to which the Minister of Health sent the report of events on Monday morning, the President of the Committee, Euthymios Diplaros, made statements yesterday, saying, among other things, that “the file is extensive, and it is not possible to study it in a day.” He explained, however, that “a preliminary reading shows that we need to consider this issue in two periods: before and after the GHS,” highlighting that “there is another significant parameter concerning the change in the management status of the warehouses, which were under the Pharmaceutical Services until 2017 and from 2017 onwards were transferred to the Purchasing and Procurement Directorate of the Ministry of Health.”
