The widely reported shortage of drugs and medical supplies at the Mbabane Government Hospital took a new turn yesterday when Minister for Health Mduduzi Matsebula found shelves seemingly loaded with drugs and medical supplies during an impromptu visit.
This development follows a challenging week that saw professional staff, including nurses, doctors, orderlies and support staff, convening in lengthy meetings over three days to find a solution to the perceived drugs shortage.
Minister Matsebula said he paid the unscheduled visit after seeing media headlines and pictures depicting empty shelves, purportedly from the Mbabane Government Hospital.
Emphasised
He acknowledged that stock levels were not at full capacity, but emphasised he was not expecting the hospital to come to the brink of closure due to the shortage of drugs.
Accompanied by Senior Medical Officer Thandolwakhe Tembe, Principal Pharmacist Muzi Shiba, other hospital officials and the Acting Director of the Central Medical Stores Sifundo Zwane, Minister Matsebula embarked on what he termed a ‘fact-finding mission’ to ascertain the true extent of the shortage.
“Before going to a meeting with senior officers of the ministry, I want to be fully abreast with the situation on the ground,” he stated.
At the main drug storage facility, the minister reported finding almost all shelves occupied.
Replenish
He qualified this by adding: “But that does not mean we have every possible drug or medical supply. I am aware that there are several gaps that we are still filling. We have ordered several drugs to replenish the stocks and are expecting delivery anytime soon.”
Dispensary clerks for the antiretroviral section, Thabile Lukhele and Sincedile Ntshakala, confirmed that they have not stopped working, as a majority of the drugs are in stock. As they issued drugs to patients, the minister directly enquired if patients were receiving the help they sought. Their responses were affirmative, expressing satisfaction with receiving their drugs.
At the Dentistry Department, led by Dr Comfort Shongwe, the minister found all treatment rooms occupied by patients and medical staff. He asked the staff if they were ‘so drained that they had difficulty continuing with work,’ but the nurses present responded that work was going on unabated.
Minister Matsebula thanked them for the positive report received about the Dentistry Unit.
“I wonder if Dr Shongwe gave you feedback that this department received accolades from many patients. I thank you for your dedicated service, keep dedicating yourselves to your work. The shortages that you may have experienced are being attended to as a matter of urgency.”
Assistance
He also asked the patients if they were receiving necessary assistance, to which they responded in the affirmative.
The minister continued his tour to the Pharmacy Unit for children and inmates, where he again found staff at work assisting patients. They assured him that operations had never stopped and that medication was sufficient.
“Some of the medications may not be in stock, but most of what the patients require is available,” a medical professional confirmed.
At the Emergency Unit, the minister discovered boxes of medical supplies stored outside the pharmacy due to a lack of space.
“There is no space in the pharmacy to accommodate these supplies, which is why we have kept them here,” a staff member explained.
Minister Matsebula assured that more drugs are on order, with government having sourced funds from the World Bank. He added these would combine with drugs bought through emergency orders.
“We want to ensure that no patient leaves the hospital without having received medication,” he stated.
In an interview, he expressed his dismay at news reports of empty shelves and calls for the hospital to shut down.
Patients show minister out-of-stock drugs
MBABANE – Minister for Health Mduduzi Matsebula was yesterday shown prescriptions by patients at the Mbabane Government Hospital’s Renal Unit, indicating that some drugs were out of stock.
The minister, whose tour of the facility was led by Matron Nelly Ngcobo, heard from patients that some of the drugs they had received would only last for a few days.
However, Matsebula took pictures of the prescriptions and noted that most of the items indicated as out-of-stock were, in fact, supplements.
He immediately made calls to ministry managers to enquire if the missing supplements had been ordered, and subsequently assured the patients that the drugs would be delivered soon.
During his tour, Minister Matsebula also observed that some of the dialysers (dialysis machines) in the unit were old and no longer fully functional. “We will budget for new machines because clearly these are too old,” he assured the staff and patients.
In a separate report, a patient who reached out to this newspaper yesterday evening claimed he had not been given Deprazone tablets, which are used to treat ulcers. “I was given all other drugs, apart from this one,” he said, displaying his doctor’s prescription.
However, the ministry assured it was also part of the medication on order.
Downscale operations regardless – SWADNU
MBABANE – The Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) maintains that the presence of drugs found by Health Minister Mduduzi Matsebula at Mbabane Government Hospital does not negate the need for emergency measures.
SWADNU Secretary General Mayibongwe Masangane asserted that certain medical operations cannot proceed without a full complement of drugs and medical supplies. He was responding to enquiries from this newspaper regarding whether medical professionals still stood by their resolution to downscale operations at the hospital.
“We still stand by that resolution. If we downscale the operations, we will be able to offer fair service to the selected number of patients that will come to the facility,” Masangane stated.
Two-three months stock available – CMS
MBABANE – Drugs will be available in Eswatini’s public health facilities for an estimated two to three months, according to Central Medical Stores (CMS) Acting Director Sifundo Zwane.
She assured that should this period lessen, CMS would ensure a continuous supply. Zwane made these remarks in an interview during a tour of the Mbabane Government Hospital. “We want to make sure that the facilities have the critical stock of drugs,” she stated.
She confirmed that CMS would soon bring in medication specifically for theatre use, as well as those utilised in the maternity ward. Zwane highlighted that Mbabane Government Hospital currently has enough supply of oral and injectable antibiotics, alongside medications for non-communicable and chronic diseases.
Critical
However, she acknowledged a critical area of concern: “In some critical drugs, we have less than one month of stock, which means we need to run in an order to solve that situation.”
Despite this, Zwane encouraged patients to visit all clinics and hospitals, assuring them they would find adequate stocks of drugs.
Leave a comment