Address perennial drug shortage

Mar 05, 2017 News

– PS warns ahead of termination

“We have had the perennial problem of dealing with the shortage of medicine in the system and I know that is a sore point and we have to get it right.” The foregoing represented a part of the parting words of former Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Public Health, Mr. Trevor Thomas.
Thomas who was speaking at the Regional Health Officers and Programme Managers meeting on Tuesday at the Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, Georgetown informed those in attendance that “part of getting [the medicine shortage situation] right, is getting it right at every level of the system.”
Thomas was fierce in his assertion. “We cannot continue with a situation where people call the Minister or the Permanent Secretary’s office and say we have a shortage of this drug or that drug and we are running helter-skelter to buy it or to get it.”
Thomas underscored that the shortage of medicine has long been linked to situations where these are bought and legitimately used or sometimes even misused.
“There are still issues [in public health] where pharmaceuticals are not accounted for in the regions,” said Thomas, as he amplified the need for accountability measures to be developed and implemented.
“It is important that we manage our resources. We cannot just be contented by saying we need to get more [drugs] without ensuring that what is given is properly utilised,” Thomas asserted. In fact, he stressed the need for the health sector to build capacity to manage its resources, be it financial, material or human.
He moreover urged the health officials to not only better understand their regions, but seek to revisit what was done during the past year, in hopes of improving during the course of 2017.
Although the Ministry has recently been putting measures in place to tackle this challenge, there have been reports to substantiate that it has been prevailing for years.
Former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, in April of last year had denied reports that there was a massive drug shortage in the public health sector, and even went as far as lambasting the media for what he described as “bogus” reporting in this regard.
But there were many reports that gave credence to a massive drug shortage on essential drugs at various hospitals and health centres across the country. The Ministry strongly refuted such reports. However, shortly after demitting the office of Chairman of the Board last year, Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman, had related that the country’s main public hospital, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), was faced with a protracted drug shortage challenge. He had attributed the situation to political interference.
Dr. Hanoman had further revealed that on the occasions that shortages of drugs were highlighted in the public domain, officials would wrongly assure that this was not the case.
”Patients would accost me on the road and say they don’t have insulin or the hospital does not have this or that type of drugs…”Dr. Hanoman had divulged, as he pointed out that addressing the problem was not easy, given the prevailing interference.
”I realised at that time that the hospital could not have been autonomous…decision-making processes were under the thumb of certain officials who felt they were ‘all-powerful’,” said Dr. Hanoman. He disclosed that his many efforts to address the drug shortage issue and other problems at the hospital were often to no avail.

Latest News

Address perennial drug shortage

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Clarendon College too good for Dolphin as Annai Sec’ holds Speyside...

Glasgow excided for MLS journey with Chicago Fire

Matthews slams unbeaten 85 as Windies Women...

No room to breathe as five more teams to advance...

Sammy to be appointed as West Indies Senior...

Bangladesh hold nerve to defend 148 and take 1-0...

Features/Columnists

The stakes are high in Guyana’s democracy

Let the asylum seekers go: a first step for Venezuela to rebuild relations in the Americas

Cash grant-he last stop

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Address perennial drug shortage

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]