Times Of Swaziland: 3 DEATHS BLAMED  ON DRUGS SHORTAGE

3 DEATHS BLAMED  ON DRUGS SHORTAGE
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  BY ANDILE NSIBANDE on 14/05/2019 00:23:00


NHLANGANO – At least three patients are thought to have died needlessly due to
an ongoing shortage of medication in one health facility in the country.
The nurses’ union believes the figures could even be much higher if cases can
be investigated further.
The three suspected cases are only confined to the Nhlangano Health Centre,
where patients who have been suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure)
eventually lost their lives.
It should be noted that the patients did not necessarily die at the facility’s
premises, but succumbed to their illnesses after failing to get access to
critical drugs.
One of the victims, according to a source at the health facility, is an elderly
woman who frequented the hospital but could not get access to medication. Two
other males, who recently collapsed and died around the same town, are also
believed to have succumbed to complications with their blood pressure because
they were no longer getting their medication.
It has emerged that across the country, health facilities are struggling with a
diminishing supply of critical drugs, but most affected are the elderly, who
suffer from high blood pressure.
At Nhlangano Health Centre for instance, the facility ran out of hypertension
drugs around February, and since then, they have been turning patients away,
according to a staffer.
The source further revealed that just recently, they also ran out of medicine to
treat chronic conditions like stomach ulcers, and that of people with mental
illnesses. “It’s a very precarious situation. Doctors are now scared to
admit patients in the absence of medicine because relatives may end shifting the
blame to the hospital, yet the underlying problem is that of the drug
shortage,” explained the health worker.
Despite the aforementioned chronic illnesses, it appears like the serious
shortage of medicines will also render some hospitals, like the Nhlangano Health
Centre, incompetent to treat even the mildest flu this winter season.
flu
This comes after dozens of patients suffering from flu symptoms complained that
they were only given paracetamol (a painkiller), after being told that other
prescribed medicines were in short supply. One interviewed patient said she
spent over five hours waiting in the queue at the Nhlangano Health Centre
yesterday, where she had gone to seek medical attention after she was attacked
by what she thought was a bout of flu.
She said the doctor indeed prescribed medicine for influenza, but her
disappointment came when she reached the facility’s dispensary, where she was
only given a packet of paracetamol or panado, which is a common painkiller used
to treat mild pain. “This was so sad. I just wished they had informed me early
enough. I could have made plans to visit another facility straight away,” she
said.
The woman told this publication that she ended up boarding a bus to another
private clinic situated around Mahamba, where she eventually got some of the
medicine she needed for her condition. “But the treatment was just too
expensive,” she said.
An investigation conducted by this publication discovered that it’s not just
flu alone. Many other patients suffering from ailments like high blood pressure
and diabetes were reportedly turned away at the same facility.
Mothers also complained that they were not getting medicine prescribed for their
children at the health centre’s pharmacy.
President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union Bheki Mamba conceded that
several facilities across the country continued to face serious challenges
because they have run out of medical supplies.
“It’s just unfortunate that people are dying out there yet nothing tangible
is being done to arrest the situation.
“Government has failed in its obligation to make health care accessible to the
populace, and this has resulted in people losing trust in the health system.
Even the road map that was being presented by the prime minister cannot bring
hope if people continue to die or to be turned away from facilities because
there are no drugs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Lizzy Nkosi said she was unaware of depleted drugs
in local facilities. She said in as far as government was concerned, their
purchasing of drugs was on point, which made her believe there was adequate
medical supplies at the central medical stores.
“This could be an isolated problem. It could happen that it is an issue of
logistics at that particular health facility, because what I know is that there
was enough medicine at the central medical stores,” she insisted.