PROBE UTH ARTIFICIAL DRUGS CRISIS, MINISTRY ADVISED
DO NOT get emotional over the reported failure by the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to dispense medicine by repeatedly giving prescriptions to patients but thoroughly investigate the matter, ZRP leader Wright Musoma has told Ministry of Health permanent secretary, Kennedy Malama.
Yesterday, the Daily Nation exposed a scam in which a number of patients seeking medical attention at UTH are being sent away with prescriptions for most drugs, especially antibiotics.
This forced Dr. Malama to take a tour of UTH to ascertain if it had run out of medical supplies and later addressed the media in which he disputed the Daily Nation story saying it was false as the hospital was well-stocked with medicine.
But commenting on the matter, Mr. Musoma said Dr. Malama was using wrong tactics in arriving at the truth concerning the dispensation of drugs at UTH and that he must have been more investigative in his approach rather than being impulsive.
“Surely, did the PS expect responsible personnel to tell him that the story was true and that they were mainly giving prescription instead of medicine? Does he think we are not aware that pilfering of medicine has been rife in medical facilities where drugs procured by Government end up in private medical facilities, most which are owned by the same people he is trying to defend?
“One cannot summon the media and go to UTH on a so-called fact-finding mission and expect to get to the bottom of the matter just like that. UTH may have the medicine in stock but the issue he must be dealing with is to ensure that this medicine reaches the patients. We have a number of cases where patients are told to go and buy medicine from drug stores and this is a fact,” Mr. Musoma said.
He further said even the explanation from UTH that the hospital always found substitute drugs in cases where the medicine that was to be administered was not available.
“Is UTH telling us that they do not give prescriptions for drugs? How many times have patients been told to go and buy medicine from other facilities? If truly they have substitute drugs and are doing the rightful thing, why has this trend continued? The PS and other people in the ministry must not kill the messenger but address this problem which has been on the increase.
“To the media, learn to raise pertinent questions and avoid being paraded to air the message that those entrusted with public responsibility want to relay. The issue of pilfering in hospitals is rife and if we are going to have people being defensive when lives are being lost, then your core value will be lost. We need more investigations into this matter,” he said.
Under the glare of cameras, the PS visited the UTH pharmacies which were well stocked, a situation that forced him to warn staff to guard against pilfering and to ensure that alternatives are given instead of asking patients to buy medicines.