Shortage of saline at GPHC’s Emergency Unit- Dr. Norton

Feb 01, 2014 News

While senior officials at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) continue to stress that the hospital is not experiencing a shortage of medication, doctors and nurses at the institution are not supporting their claims.

Dr. George Norton

Listing saline as one of the most important solutions which is needed in the emergency department of any hospital, the health workers of the Accident and Emergency Unit yesterday said that it is not available in their department.
However, Chief Executive officer of the GPHC, Michael Khan during a recent interview with this publication on the shortage of drugs, said that the staffers should borrow the needed medication from another department if they ran out.
He could not directly say whether the hospital is experiencing a shortage of drugs.
“They (health workers) need to check the other wards and borrow until we get the item. I am not saying that a ward did not run out but did they notify the supervisors,” the CEO said
For several weeks, hospital staffers from various departments have been complaining about not having the “needed” drugs to work with on a daily basis.
During a check at the hospital’s Emergency Unit yesterday, a doctor who asked to remain unnamed explained that the unit does not have medications such as normal saline, Dilantin, an anti-epileptic drug used to control seizures; Ketamine, a synthetic compound used as an anaesthetic and analgesic drug; Haldol, a tranquilizer used to treat psychotic disorders; Tramadol, a centrally acting opioid analgesic used to treat severe pain; Meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with analgestic and fever reducer; Thiamin, a water-soluble of the vitamin B complex, and gauze (cotton strips) among other basic medications.

CEO Michael Khan

In an invited comment, the hospital’s Ophthalmologist, Dr. George Norton explained that not having the basic medication has become a norm at the hospital.
According to Norton, gone are the days when he would prescribe medication for a patient and they would get it at the pharmacy.
“Now, we have to ask for a list of the medications available at the pharmacy so when the patient comes to us we would know what we have but sometimes we don’t even get that list,” Norton posited.
The ophthalmologist further added that although the health system country wide is experiencing a shortage of drugs, the GPHC alone dumped $49.498M worth of expired drugs in 2010, according to the 2011 Auditor General’s report.
“How is it we dump so much money in expired drugs and yet, we don’t have the basic drugs at the hospital?” Norton questioned.
Another doctor said about three weeks ago, a nurse from the institution’s Emergency Unit had to leave the hospital to go and buy saline for a patient who was injured in an accident.
“They are saying that we should call the wards and ask to borrow the needed drugs but what if we have an emergency case and the patient needs that particular medication. It will be time consuming to call all the wards and find out if they have,” the doctor stressed.
The doctor chastised the Ministry of Health for “looking at friendship” and accepting late delivery of drugs from New GPC.
“Come on people, we are playing with people’s life here. We have been experiencing a shortage of medication for years and the government is not doing anything. It’s time we change our supplier,” the doctor added.
The other wards at the hospital have also been experiencing a shortage of drugs.