CLOSE TO 10 DRUGS OUT OF STOCK

MBABANE – It looks like a helpless situation as the country has run short of a number of major drugs including Intravenous (IV) fluids.

The IV fluids commonly referred to as drip are used for rehydration if a patient had been dehydrated from illness or excessive activity, treatment of an infection using antibiotics, cancer treatment through chemotherapy drugs and management of pain using certain medications. Also on the list of drugs that are not available is medication for treating pain (diclofenac and tramadol) and severe infections (Cefazolin).
Patients’ right to health is being violated by the drug shortage as they leave health centres  without receiving their prescribed drugs and are forced to purchase them at the pharmacies at more costs.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that this publication has reported about the shortage of certain drugs while the Ministry of Health remains adamant that the situation has not reached crisis stage.

One patient, who called this publication to report that he had been turned back from a public health institution due to the unavailability of his prescribed drugs, asked the Minister of Health Sibongile Simelane when such a situation warranted to be called a crisis.
“The mere fact that there is not one medication is a crisis. Should we wait for someone to die before we declare it a crisis?” asked the patient.
To send their message across, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) petitioned the Prime Minister’s office last Friday with the hope to get immediate intervention.
Due to the situation, the nurses said people must come at their own risk to all public health facilities as medication for a number of ailments was not available.

SWADNU Secretary General Sibusiso Lushaba said the drug shortage was a serious national crisis, especially with the IV fluids scarcity. Lushaba said the country had once again plunged into a drug stock out and it was near impossible to operate in a number of facilities in the country. “We delivered the petition to the PM because there was a crisis and patients are not getting help.”
Principal Secretary in the ministry of health Dr Simon Zwane said the drugs situation in the country had not improved to the level of satisfaction. Zwane said the issue of drug stockout was not new and it has been extensively explained even in Parliament.
In an interview with Chief Pharmacist Fortunate Bhembe, she maintained that there was no drug crisis. Bhembe said she wrote to all the key hospitals and was still going to identify the key people to communicate with at clinical level.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: