— says Regional Health Officer
REGION Five Regional Health Officer, Dr Steven Cheefoon said there is no shortage of essential drugs at health facilities in the region.He gave the assurance at the Regional Democratic Council’s (RDC) statutory meeting last week in response to allegations of widespread shortages by opposition councillors.
“Why there would have appeared to be some shortages is because we have two shelves for storing drugs: one as a distribution shelf and one for stocking and storage. We would have drugs pre-packed outside on the distribution shelf but in the recent past on certain clinic days, we would have a high influx of patients referred from other hospitals to receive treatment at Fort Wellington or Mahaicony hospitals.
“This, would have caused a temporary shortage on the distribution shelf and in such cases, the patient would receive the drugs the next day or on the next clinic date if it is a drug that is on the non-essential list.”
He assured that his department has put systems in place to ensure that this problem does not re-occur.
“We have put an extra 1000 of every medication on the distribution shelf to cater for the excess of patients with chronic illnesses referred to us by hospitals outside the region.”
Region Five has 15 health centres and two cottage hospitals.
