By Kristen Shane

An internal investigation into a drug supply discrepancy at the Kincardine hospital pharmacy found that some narcotics were stolen, South Bruce Grey Health Centre CEO Paul Davies said last week.

Davies revealed the information when asked by reporters questioning him after he spoke to Kincardine council on an unrelated issue.

He couldn’t say the exact quantity of the stolen drugs, but said it was less than 1,000 pills. They included narcotics, a more tightly controlled group of addictive drugs that include pain killers such as OxyContin (oxycodone), morphine or codeine.

As of last Wednesday, Davies said police had not arrested anyone or laid any charges in the case, to his knowledge.

The South Bruce detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police was running a parallel investigation to the internal hospital one, which began the week of Dec. 7, when a monthly internal audit of the pharmacy’s stock of drugs revealed the theoretical computerized drug count was higher than the actual count for between four and six different drugs.

Davies said he could not comment whether any hospital staff had been fired or suspended because it was a human resources issue.

In light of the theft, the hospital corporation has reviewed policies on securing the pharmacy and the number of pharmacy keys in use, he said.

“All of the audit procedures, they were stiff before – they’re even tighter now,” he added.

The police investigation is ongoing, said South Bruce OPP spokesperson Constable Kevin Martin on Monday.