Systems lacking at Health Ministry’s drug bond

March 11, 2014 By admin

APNU Member of Parliament and Shadow Health Minister, Dr George Norton

– Chandarpal slams poor recordkeeping, communication

By Vahnu Manikchand

Social Sector Committee Chairperson Indra Chandarpal has stated that there is a need for the effective management of all systems at the Health Ministry’s multimillion-dollar drug bond at Diamond, East Bank Demerara to ensure the timely delivery of supplies to the various medical institutions.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, Chandarpal explained that as part of a programme  implemented by the Committee, she, along with other members, visited several hospitals during which it was related to them that the respective pharmacies do not have key medical supplies needed by patients.

Social Sector Committee Chairperson Indra Chandarpal

This caused the Committee to visit the Material Management Unit with the intention of highlighting the bottlenecks within the system.

According to the Chairperson, they were briefed on all the systems in use; however, they believe no consorted effort was made to improve the delivery of medical supplies. She added that good recordkeeping is one of the many issues affecting the smooth flow of the distribution process at the bond.  The Health Ministry has brought in an expert to oversee the technical management of the bond. This will cover the storage process, retrieval of supplies, distribution, and procurement.

Chandarpal added that she found a lack of communication between the parties involved.  She noted that systems should be in place so that persons requesting supplies do so within the requisite timeline, and those distributing also play a part in ensuring the timely delivery of these supplies. She continued that a breakdown of the communication process not only causes delays, but also wastes valuable resources and time.

As it relates to the quality of supplies, given the large quantity of expired drugs that the Ministry dumps regularly, Chandarpal said the Ministry was not solely culpable, since many people donate supplies to the health sector and some of these have a very short shelf life.

She explained that while the government may be committed to providing the best services for the public, administrators are responsible for the effective management of these services.

Now that the issue has been highlighted in the media, there will be headway made in improving the system.

The Committee has concluded that the bond’s systems must be changed and has given the management team some time to effect the changes before another visit is made. Visits are also expected at other hospitals around the country before the Committee can make any recommendations.

“We will definitely return in a few months… we have given them a timeline and will go back to ensure that just did not waste our time… they promised to do better and have to do better, we are not taking no for an answer,” she pointed out.

A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and Shadow Health Minister, Dr George Norton, stated that proper storage and distribution of medical supplies is an ongoing problem in all of the health institutions and lack of communication is one of many problems.

The doctor pointed out that availability of medications is another factor, citing the Georgetown Public Hospital where necessary and regularly used drugs are usually out of stock.

“At this point in time, we don’t know exactly what systems are in place to guarantee proper supply of medications… when you write a prescription you’ve got to ask whether or not we have it, because what you find is that basic drugs, important drugs that are always in need, is in short supply,” he stated. Dr Norton also said another issue is the short shelf life of drugs when placed in the pharmacies.

Also weighing on the issue is former Region Four Health Officer, Dr Karen Cummings, who is now an APNU Member of Parliament.  She said there are systems in place for the timely dispensation of drugs, but there are hiccups which result in shortages and even unavailability of the drugs.

Dr Cummings explained that health centres and hospitals usually have a stock log sheet and a consumption report which they have to and should update.

She stated that by doing this the medical entities can each know their consumption level and the type of medications they used, which will help in addressing the problem of shortages.

Dr Cummings, who is in charge of several health centres, went on to say that this problem can be curbed if the institutions prepare a quarterly or half-year consumption report which will reflect the types and amount of drugs used and match them with the diseases being treated regularly. This way, the institutions can order drugs used in abundance and regularly.

She pointed out that this can only work if there is cooperation among the staff of the institutions and government agencies, especially the storage bond.

Earlier this year, the Local Government Ministry held a two-day regional workshop with executives from the various regional offices during which regional health services was scrutinised. The participants had assessed and streamlined the implementation of regional health programmes and also looked at shortages of drugs.