-says Public Health Minister as she responds PPP’s claims of drugs shortage

THE Ministry of Public Health has imposed a strict zero-tolerance rule for persons who fail to adhere to the procurement laws, said Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence in her response to opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Frank Anthony, who accused the ministry of breaching procurement laws.

Dr. Anthony accused the ministry of breaching every section of the Procurement Act and proceeded to cite examples from a report which was prepared by the Auditor General Deodat Sharma. “Malpractice in procurement continues unabated at the ministry and government should take action against the transgressor,” said the MP during the second day of the budget debate on Tuesday. Minister Lawrence in an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), contended that a consultant from the United Kingdom is here, working along with the ministry’s procurement and personnel staff to ensure inefficiencies are addressed.

“No doubt we have been working on our procurement, it has been a very rocky road over the past year since we have established a Procurement Department; there was no Procurement Department in the Ministry of Public Health, it was this government in 2017 that implemented a Procurement Department that has ensured that our purchases are done in a transparent manner,” said the minister.

The ministry, she said, is also addressing the issue of drug shortage which was also raised by Dr. Anthony in his presentation. “Don’t come here and pretend that they aren’t shortages…at GPHC there are shortages…Go to any one of the health centres and we can identify shortages, so don’t come here to tell us that we don’t have shortages,” said the opposition MP.

Minister Lawrence however defended her ministry, noting that Guyana as a small country is at a disadvantage, so the ministry has to wait until the manufacturers are producing a particular drug in bulk before supplies are made available.

“This has become the mantra for the PPP… As we speak, our health facilities, our hospitals should have not less than 70 to 75 per cent of the drugs and medical supplies; yes, there are shortages of some of the items, but in any system, you will have that,” said the minister during her interview with the DPI.

Her comment specifically addressed Dr. Anthony’s claim that more than $345 million were paid for drugs which were not delivered. The opposition MP also argued that government continues to pay high rental to store drugs; but the minister said that a modernised drug bond is being constructed in Kingston but, in the interim, the ministry has been forced to utilise other storage options which have been provided.
The storage, she said, is being provided at no cost, by members of the private sector, including the management of the Ocean View International Hotel.

Improving storage of drugs is just one item on the ministry’s agenda, said the minister, adding that they are working to develop all health institutions across the country. The development was however refuted by Dr. Anthony who said: “Admissions at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is like a lottery, patients have to hope that when they get sick and go there is a bed. People have to wait in the accident and emergency unit for days to get a bed in the wards.

” In an effort to address that concern, Minister Lawrence said shortage of beds and space started when opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira was the then Minister of Health and requested that the number of beds in those wards that span from East Street to Lamaha Street, Georgetown be reduced from over 700 to a little over 400. She also said many persons flock the GPHC to receive modern treatment because the hospital is the country’s primary institution.