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Health Ministry to review drug-testing capability

Nov 04, 2009 News

The Ministry of Health will soon clamp down on private health institutions in the country to ensure that all the medicines they have are effectively tested.
At his last press conference, Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, told reporters that health inspectors from his Ministry will visit hospitals and pharmacies and test the drugs to ensure that persons are buying drugs of high quality, since many people are on treatment with drugs that are not effective and thus complications arise.
Minister Ramsammy explained that whenever there is the availability it opts for generic drugs instead of brand name drugs, which usually cost more.
In the public sector all medicines used are tested to ensure that they have the correct amount of the active ingredient, the physical property and the solubility.
“For that reason our health bond is now equipped with a rapid testing capacity…so we have a rapid testing capacity that could take 42 of the most frequently used drugs. Every time that we buy it, we screen the drugs to ensure they reach the highest quality,” Minister Ramsammy said.
After this, the medicines undergo a second stage of testing at the Food and Drug Analyst Department and then a third level of testing at the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory in Jamaica.
“This is to give assurance to the public that the drugs we use in the public sector are of high quality. We are going to extend that to random testing in the private sector.”
Meanwhile, while pointing out that chronic diseases are a major problem in Guyana, Dr. Ramsammy explained that Guyana does not have the capacity to purchase the same medicines that the United States utilize to treat chronic diseases.
Currently, there are more than 200 medicines available to treat hypertension, but according to Minister Ramsammy, it is impossible for the public sector to provide all 200 medicines.
“So all of our experts from the private and public sector come together and agree on a set of drugs that we will carry for a particular disease. We can’t carry one because not all the patients respond to one drug.”
Despite this, he said the administration continues to invest in medicines and conducts effective testing.
Pointing out that chronic disease is a major problem in the country; Dr. Ramsammy said that Guyana currently has 36 children living with diabetes, and are all receiving insulin.

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