The case is closed • The case of expired drugs at Rambam Hospital

It was decided to close the case in the case of expired drugs given to patients at Rambam Hospital

(haipo) - The prosecutor's office decided to close the case against all the suspects who gave cancer patients expired drugs in the oncology department at Rambam Hospital.

Offenses that continued over several years

As a reminder, in December 2021, the case of expired drugs given to patients in the oncology department at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa exploded. The case exploded after an investigation was opened following complaints filed by the Ministry of Health and the local employee in 2018, concerning the suspected administration of expired oncology drugs whose validity was extended to patients Oncologists at the hospital. The offenses continued for several years.

The dates and batch numbers of medicines that were transferred to the medical teams were falsified

Following the police complaints, the fraud unit of the Coastal District, together with the Ministry of Health and the Tax Authority, launched an intensive and complex investigation in order to gather evidence and arrive at the truth. From the investigation that led to the arrest of three pharmacists and the detention of a female doctor on the suspicion that they were involved in the case, it was suspected that the dates and batch numbers of drugs that were transferred to the medical teams were falsified, as well as additional actions were performed on expired drugs, this to hide their expiration and to deceive the production dates.

Closing the case

This month, August 2023, the Haifa District Attorney's Office decided, as mentioned, to close the case against all the suspects from the Rambam Hospital after investigating suspects and witnesses in the case, including pharmacists, managers at the hospital and other factors. An investigation in which it was not possible to prove the degree of certainty required in a criminal proceeding on which dates And which of the patients were given expired drugs, and also, the impact of the use of expired drugs on the patients, to the extent that there was any.

It was not possible to prove within the framework of the investigation the degree of certainty required in a criminal proceeding

The Haifa District Attorney's Office (Criminal) responded:

The attorney's office decided to close the case against all the suspects from Rambam Hospital. The investigation began in March 2020 under the auspices of the attorney's office, and in June 2022 the case was transferred to the attorney's office. After a thorough examination of the evidence, the police were asked to complete the investigation on several issues and the investigation was completed in March 2023. As part of the investigation Over 40 suspects and witnesses in the case were questioned, including pharmacists, hospital managers and other factors.

Despite the aforementioned, it was not possible to prove, with the degree of certainty required in a criminal proceeding, at which times and to which patients expired drugs were given, and also, the impact of the use of expired drugs on the patients, to the extent that there was any. This, despite a comprehensive examination carried out by an expert of the Ministry of Health in this matter. The attorney's office will forward the investigation material to the examination of the relevant factors in the Ministry of Health, in order to examine the disciplinary aspects.