Sindh’s Major Cardiac Hospital Faces Questions Over 3,191 Expired Morphine Injections

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KARACHI: More than 3,000 morphine injections, used to treat severe pain, have expired unused at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), raising questions about the hospital’s inventory management and monitoring procedures.

According to documents, on December 24, 2025, hospital pharmacist Talha Mehboob Khan wrote to the Assistant Manager of Pharmacy, highlighting that 3,191 morphine injections stored in the hospital’s narcotics cabinet were due to expire on December 30, 2025.

Records show that, out of a total stock of 6,000 injections received between October 2023 and November 2025, only 2,809 were used. The remaining 3,191 injections, accounting for approximately 53 per cent of the stock, reached their expiry date.

Morphine is a potent pain-relieving medication used in the treatment of severe pain, including pain experienced by some patients with cancer. Its expiry has raised concerns about whether the available stock was managed and distributed efficiently.

NICVD Explains Expiry of Morphine Stock Following the emergence of the issue, NICVD spokesperson Abdul Naseer explained that morphine is an imported, controlled narcotic medication that can only be returned in accordance with applicable regulations.

He stated that, following an inspection by the drug inspector and completion of the required legal formalities, the supplier company would provide replacement injections at no additional cost.

According to the spokesperson, the replacement arrangement means that the incident would not result in a financial loss to the national exchequer.

Questions Remain Over Inventory Management Despite the explanation, questions remain over why thousands of injections were not used before their expiry dates, particularly given the monitoring procedures and inventory management system in place at the hospital.

The available information does not establish why the stock remained unused or whether responsibility has been assigned for the expired injections.

The timeline for the delivery of replacement stock also remains unclear based on the information provided.

The incident has renewed attention on the importance of effective inventory monitoring in public hospitals, particularly for essential medicines that must be managed carefully to minimise wastage and ensure availability for patients who need them.