Windsor Regional Hospital officials announced Wednesday they have stopped using all products from Marchese Hospital Solutions.
Hospital CEO David Musyj says they stopped using the chemo drug the moment they were told there was a possible issue with watered down doses. He says the other drugs from the company are not mixed, but they still made the decision to stop all purchases from Marchese.
The Ontario Health Ministry says Marchese operates only under guidelines suggested by Cancer Care Ontario, the provincial agency that oversees cancer care in the province. But Cancer Care Ontario says it doesn’t oversee the procurement of drugs, saying that’s the responsibility of hospitals.
The Ontario College of Pharmacists tells CTV News that the Mississauga company is not an accredited pharmacy and therefore would not be subject to reviews by its inspectors.
Musyj says they are focussing on the patients, not Marchese.
“These issues of what they were or were not will be sorted out through the investigation process,” says Musyj. “We look forward to having Marchese participate in that process.”
The hospital had their second patient/family town hall session on Tuesday with about 50-60 people. Musyj says it was very emotional for everyone that attended.
Musyj says out of the 290 Windsor patients impacted by the diluted chemotherapy issue throughout the last year, the hospital has been able to now make contact with 289 patients or next of kin.
With files from CTVNews.ca
