A five-point plan to address critical medicinal shortage from health experts
A strong call went out from the health sector this week to take stock of the critical medicinal shortages and provide plans for urgent action to meet this crisis gripping the country.
Having brainstormed over the crisis, health experts reiterated that the dire need is a five-point plan to manage it. They suggested the following:
Identify the list of drugs and consumables ‘ essential’ to maintain a satisfactory level of service by the hospitals.
Take a stock-check or assessment of how much of these essential drugs and consumables are available and what the additional requirement would be for the running of the health sector in the next three months.
Assess how much money the Treasury is able to release for the purchase of these essential medicines and consumables. Calculate the shortfall of finances needed to meet these essential medical purchases
Appeal to donor agencies, philanthropic organizations, the expatriate community and overseas medical organizations to contribute finances to meet the deficit.
A very senior Specialist said that the Treasury and the Health Ministry together would need to devise a transparent method for the maximal utilization of donations to purchase essential medicines.
Emphasising that such a mechanism would have to be “accountable and transparent”, he added that it should happen within the usual Health Ministry procedures and in keeping with the government’s financial regulations.
The Sunday Times learns that there are no stocks of over 250 medicines including drugs, suspensions, syrups, inhalers, eye drops and creams. Among them are medications used to reduce extra fluid in the body caused by conditions such as heart failure, liver disease and kidney disease; antibiotics in the treatment of a variety of infections; life-saving inhalers; a range of anti- hypertensive drugs ( to control high blood pressure) of different classes; a simple drug to prevent vomiting, some types of aspirin; anti-pyretic medication (to bring down fever); medication for anxiety; creams used in wound dressing and on burns; medication against constipation mainly in the elderly; and many dental requirements.
This list does not include the intravenous solutions, intravenous antibiotics, injectable intramuscular preparations, anaesthetic drugs and cancer drugs which are all either not available or in short supply, it is learnt.
The powerful Intercollegiate Committee of the Sri Lanka Medical
Association ( SLMA), meanwhile, which offered to meet President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to provide guidance and advice on the drug crisis, has listed its urgent concerns.
Among them is the acute shortage of essential medicines, reagents, equipment and consumables in government hospitals and the private healthcare sector.
The committee states: “Already decisions have been made to curtail some services such as routine surgical operations and even limit the usage of available material to life- threatening illnesses. This is not at all a sound policy as, what is considered non- emergency situations could turn into life-threatening problems within a few hours.
“This is not a sustainable policy and unless urgent replenishment of supplies is made, within a matter of weeks, if not days, emergency treatment will also not be possible. This will result in a catastrophic number of deaths, which is likely to be in excess of the combined death toll of COVID, Tsunami and the Civil War.”
The committee which represents medical professional colleges and associations has sought information on President Rajapaksa’s and the relevant officials’ plans to meet the exigencies related to health.
“We request a clear road map with time frames to be provided at the earliest,” the committee added.