Medicine shortage puts patients at risk
RECENTLY, complaints have cropped up about the unavailability of medication for certain serious ailments at the Penang General Hospital and government clinics on the island.
Perhaps this situation arose as a result of budgetary cuts, which forced the Health Ministry to trim costs and cut corners. Unlike private hospitals which are mainly business concerns that prioritise profits by charging high rates, government hospitals have limited capacity for generating revenue and do so mainly through their private wings targeting affluent patients. For the most part, however, public hospitals depend on government allocations to provide healthcare for the rakyat, especially the middle- and lower-income groups.
Thus, due to the budget cuts, government hospitals and clinics have to trim their pharmaceutical supply, resulting in failure to provide certain medicines to their patients.
A case in point are the eye drops, Travatan and Xalatan, for glaucoma patients, which are essential medication to keep blindness at bay. Even the generic substitutes are not available and some patients have been without these medications for three months or more.
Patients with diabetes, hypertension, prostrate and renal problems may also not be able to get their medical supplies.
If the situation persists, these patients may risk developing further complications and their health problems may be aggravated, which may pose danger to their lives.
To avoid being in dire straits, these poor patients may be forced to cut other essentials to buy their medications, which they can ill afford, from private pharmacies, thus inflicting further sufferings on them and their families.
Healthcare is a basic necessity and the Government has to prioritise this service to those who are in dire need of it. If the Government’s fiscal management is properly attuned, reducing non-critical and unnecessary or politically motivated expenditures, there should be enough funds for critical ministries like Health and Education. It is the moral responsibility of the Government to see to the health needs of the populace.