SOME NURSES CASHING IN ON DRUGS SHORTAGE

MBABANE – The shortage of medical drugs at local public hospitals has allegedly opened doors for a group of nurses, believed to be operating as a syndicate, to illegally sell medication to patients.

Investigations by Eswatini News revealed that this alleged malpractice has been happening for sometime now, where patients desperately in need of medication are targeted by ‘secret agents’ strategically placed at the Mbabane government hospital. According to well-placed sources, this has turned into a big business for  some of the nurses. The alleged syndicate is said to be also working with some pharmacies to sell the medical drugs to the unsuspecting patients. It has been further alleged that some of these medical drugs are stolen from government’s main supply.  

This practice is being spoken in harshed tones at the hospital and there are suggestions that some security guards are also being used to approach the patients in need of the medication.
The Ministry of Health’s Communications Officer, Nsindiso Tsabedze, claimed that they have only learnt about such allegations through media reports, insisting that no formal complaints have reached the ministry. “Be that as it may, the public is warned to avoid buying medical drugs from anyone at public health facilities or in the streets, but only get drugs from the pharmacy departments. Anyone who is aware of such malpractice should inform the authorities of that particular facility. If there is any truth to these allegations, anyone with evidence should come forward,” Tsabedze appealed.

The communications officer further made it clear that health workers were admonished to avoid engaging in such behaviour. Asked to comment on the allegations that the implicated nurses were collaborating with some local pharmacies to secretly sell the medical drugs that are not available at  the government hospital pharmacy, Tsabedze again reiterated that the ministry is not aware of such.

Proof

“We again ask anyone who has proof of such illicit activities to avail it. Those health workers who are aware of such alleged illegal acts are part and parcel of it if they do not report such to the relevant authorities at the facilities or the ministry,” he further warned. Tsabedze then implored patients to avoid buying medication from unauthorised people, pointing out that the best place to get medication is at the facility’s pharmacy department or at a licensed pharmacy. “They should also report such unbecoming behaviour from health workers and anyone else to the management of that particular facility,” he urged.

A senior official at the Mbabane Government Hospital, who, however, asked to remain anonymous, alleged that this issue was an open secret. “This is happening everyday and we are all aware of it. There are a lot of people involved in this, from nurses, security guards and those transporting the medication from CMS (Central Medical Stores). “What happens is that when the doctor prescribes medication for a certain patient that is not available in the hospital pharmacy, the nurse involved in this bad practice would immediately alert the agents who are usually outside the  hospital or lingering within the hospital. So, instead of that patient travelling from the hospital to a pharmacy in town for the prescribed medication, these medical drugs are made available outside the facility,” he said. The officer further alleged that some of these nurses approach the patients directly with the medical drugs, as they are aware of those that are not in stock in the hospital pharmacy.

Stolen

“Those nurses are at an advantage because they work with the doctors and are well aware of the medical drugs that are not available. The information we have is that some of those drugs from pharmacies are stolen and then sold illegally to patients. This is proving to be a huge financial loss, not just for government, but also for pharmacy owners,” the officer added.
A female nurse called upon the law enforcers to raid some of the nurses’ homesteads, stating that they will be shocked with what they might find. 

“Some of these nurses have large stock of medical drugs hidden in their houses, which they then illegally sell to patients. It is common knowledge that some people cannot afford to buy medication at pharmacies, so the syndicate becomes the best available option to get those drugs  at cheaper prices. Maybe, the police should consider raiding their houses so that they are exposed,” she said. Asked how much the patients were charged to get the medication from the alleged syndicate, the nurse said it depends on the prescribed medication by the doctor.

“The nurses know which medical drugs are in demand in hospitals and they make sure that such is always available in stock. The ministry must take this issue seriously, because  we are aware that the nurses involved in the malpractice will not stop until they are caught. This illegal sale of the drugs has the potential of harming a lot of people medically if not investigated by the health ministry authorities,” she warned. Some of the patients were also interviewed on this issue and most of them confirmed to be aware of it, even though they asked to remain unknown.

Prices

“Look, those people (agents) have a lot of medical drugs available and if they have what is prescribed by the doctor, the temptation to buy them as opposed to going to a pharmacy becomes very high because you are also able to negotiate the price,” the patient, who claimed to be from Ngwenya Village, said. However, it must be noted that some of the patients interviewed, made it clear that despite being approached several times by these agents, they still prefer buying from pharmacies. “How do you even trust that those people are selling you the right prescribed medication, they could be selling you Masta 900. People  must be very careful and stop putting their lives at risk because of shortcuts,” he stated.

A male security guard at the hospital, when asked about this issue, said though he is aware of the rumours, he is not involved in such shady dealings. “I have heard people talking about nurses selling medical drugs to patients outside the hospital, but this is being kept a top secret. I am not aware if any of my colleagues are involved in this, but I am not,” he declared.

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