Drug shortage …Linden Hospital Complex short of over 40 essential pharmaceutical drugs
We need a health system we can depend on and not one where the government continues to misuse funds and stifle the sector – Member of Parliament
With the recent reports of shortage of pharmaceutical drugs at medical institutions throughout the country, it was recently disclosed that over 40 essential drugs are not available at the Linden Hospital Complex in particular.
On Friday last, in an interview with this publication, Sharma Solomon, Chairman of Region 10 expressed that he is terribly disappointed with the state of affairs at the hospital. He said that the hospital has a severe shortage of drugs and it seems as though the Minister of Health is not interested in tackling the issue head on.
Regional Democratic Councilor of Region 10, Renis Morian (Left) and Sharma Solomon, Chairman of Region 10 (right)
“There is a severe shortage of drugs as well as some of the basic materials and equipment. We were told that this matter should have been remedied and it has persisted for two months now and we have gotten no proper update as to when this will improve. We are trying to make contact with the Ministry of Health to find out how soon they can address this matter.”
“We are still to receive two ambulances. When we made queries about this we were not given any responses with which we were satisfied. The ambulances should have been here since last year October. We are calling on the Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran to adequately address these issues and provide people with the facts.”
Some of the basic drugs that are not available at the hospital include ; Piperazine Citrate Syrup, Salbutamol Inhaler, Silver Sulfadiazine cream, Timolol eye drop 0.25%, Timolol eye drop 0.5%, Ciprofloxacin eye drop, Gentamicin eye drop, chlorampheicol eye drop, Deopovera and Microgynon.
The injections which are not in stock include; Anti snake venom, Iodine Providon, Bupivacine Spinal Heavy, Ceftriaxone Spiral Heavy, Ceftriaxone, Diclofenac Sodium, Metoclopramide, Oxytocin, Fentonyl, Promethazine, Thiamine and Vitamin B.
It was also disclosed that essential creams Haemorrhon cream and Clotrimazole are not available at the hospital.
Further, about 20 types of regularly used tablets are also unavailable. These include Vitamin C and B, Aspirin, Captopril, Fluconazole, Folic Acid, Ketoconazole and Atenolol tablets.
Also commenting on the issue, was Member of Parliament and Regional Democratic Councilor of Region 10, Renis Morian.
He said, “This is a ridiculous situation that we have at Linden and it surely reflects on the management style and interest Ramsaran has in this issue. I spoke with the Chairman of the Board of the Hospital at Linden and it was disclosed to me that the hospital is also lacking in trained staff to operate some of the equipment at the hospital.”
“We also face serious security issues at the hospital as well. When there was this huge accident where this drunk driver drove into the river, the emergency hall was filled with residents preventing nurses from operating in a safe environment. The situation simply reflects that we seriously need a mass casualty disaster plan. Major accidents always come to the hospital, so just imagine what would happen if three and four were to come simultaneously.”
“We don’t even have the drugs at the hospital to adequately give patients medical attention. We need a health system we can depend on and not one where the government continues to misuse funds and stifle the sector. I live in Region Ten and I know what’s going on. We are currently looking for support from other companies considering the state of the hospital, for if we wait on government then we would not get anywhere. We are looking at non governmental organizations overseas at this point to assist the hospital.”