— Region Five health official tells chronic disease patients

DOUBLE-DIPPING is seemingly a common occurrence in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), according to regional officials, who say the practice is posing a major challenge to the delivery of its healthcare services.
“Patients are currently collecting drugs from multiple health facilities across the region, and there is an urgent need to fix this broken system,” Regional Health Officer Dr Steven Cheefoon disclosed recently.
“The problem,” he said, “is that, for example, a patient named Jones being treated for hypertension knows that his clinic day is Wednesday.
“But he comes on Monday and he collects drugs; and then he comes back on Wednesday and he collects, and then on Friday and he collects again.
“We have found cases where a patient has collected medications five times in one week, and has gotten clean away with such unethical behaviour.”
He said that persons are particularly inclined to double-dip on the ultra sound services being offered at the two hospitals in the region, as well as on HIV medications and insulin, the latter in the case of diabetics.
“They double-dip because they hear all these things about shortages and are afraid they will run out,” Dr Cheefoon said, adding:
“Some people double-dip because they feel that they must send medications for their relatives overseas, who don’t have access to insurance and health amenities and so on.”
It’s a situation that the authorities have no intention of encouraging. “We are now struggling with this, and we have been accosting quite a few delinquents,” Dr Cheefoon said.
“We had to tell one lady last week, ‘Madam, you had medications earlier this week, and yuh medication ain’t finish yet! So, we would not be able to help you further!’”
But while this tactic may have succeeded in allowing the administration to see a significant decline in numbers, double-dipping still remains a serious problem where its thrust to optimise chronic disease patient care in the region is concerned.
“We are, of course, appealing to people not to double-dip, but at the moment, I am stuck with a paper system; and people outsmart the paper.
“We have to get a system that will beat that,” Dr Cheefoon said in obvious reference to a current drive by the administration to establish a fully electronic medical recording system at hospitals and health centres throughout the region.
He was, however, at pains to emphasise:  “We do have a shortage of drugs in Region Five, but it is not a shortage of essential drugs; merely stuff like ointments, eye drops, etc.
“We do not have a shortage of essential, life-saving drugs! There is no need for any of our chronic disease patients to ‘double-dip’.”