Berbice healthcare service is at an all-time low

Dear Editor,

Regardless of being overused the saying, ‘the health of the Nation is the wealth of the Nation’ will always remain relevant until the end of time. Therefore, the Nation’s health must and should be the priority of any Government of any given label.

This is so prioritised in the 2016 Budget and will again be prioritised in the 2017 Budget but the relevant question is, are our citizens getting the benefits that they ought to get from these budgeted amounts? Do these figures really mean anything to our citizens? The answer is a resounding no! These ‘figures’ have to be delivered! The healthcare service in this country is at an all-time low and deserves immediate rectification since our citizens deserve better.

Things are falling apart in the health sector and the corrupt practices coming to light are signals of impending disaster, since incompetence and corruption are the worst combination. It is indeed paradoxical that more money is being budgeted and spent but citizens are receiving poorer health services than before!

In March 2014 Dr Norton, who was then the shadow Minister of Health pronounced on the real reason for the drugs shortage which he said lies with its sourcing. He further added that ‘…the Ministry of Health needs to stop playing around with people’s lives…’

One year after, a source from the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) revealed that 68 of 86 drugs on the essential drugs list were out of stock. This is under Dr Norton’s watch.

Although this was vehemently denied by the Ministry of Health, it was later confirmed that 186 drugs were in fact completely out of stock or in short supply. It became clear that it was a bad decision to stop sourcing drugs from a local manufacturing company before seeking alternative sources – it was tantamount to ‘cutting your nose to spite your face’!

However, it is the mother of all ironies that the same Health Minister who wanted to eradicate corruption in the Health Sector by stop purchasing from that specific company ended up being involved in even more corruption – is he fighting corruption with corruption?

This drug shortage situation is getting worse with no solution in sight despite excuses and outright denials from the Health Ministry. It has become a vicious circle!

On 17 August, a letter writer wrote about the unavailability of insulin at the New Amsterdam Hospital. However, when I questioned the Director of Health Services in Berbice, Jevaughn Stephens, he denied that there was such a shortage. This was on 18 August and he was technically correct since 600 (10 mls) bottles were purchased on 16 August and became available to outpatients on 18 August! But what was revealed when I checked the pharmacy records was that there was an acute shortage of insulin since 28 January, 2016.

Outpatients who were insulin dependent were not given any insulin from that date until 17 August 2016 – a period of over six months!

Whatever little insulin was in stock was used in the hospital wards, and outpatients had to find up to $4000 to purchase one bottle. This is highly unaffordable since some patients use as many as 4 bottles per month! Where will our poor citizens, especially pensioners, find $16,000 per month? This is not about budgeting but it is about delivery of healthcare to our citizens! This situation has been going on at all the hospitals in Region 6.

Furthermore, the 600 vials of insulin purchased by the Region 6 Health Administration will only last up to this monthend even though outpatients are given just one vial each.

When the stock ledger is scrutinised it was seen that on 19 January, 2016 only 100 vials were received and therefore even if we can attribute the drug shortage to the inefficiencies of the Materials Management Unit or late receipt of requisitions (CRIVS) from the Region, it is difficult to accept that it took over six months for the delivery to materialise! It is difficult to accept that an emergency purchase could not have been done to alleviate the sufferings of our insulin-dependent diabetics! Diabetics simply cannot wait for insulin!

However, insulin is not the only drugs in shortage or poor supply. There are a number of medications which are often not in stock and this includes those used in the labs.

But drugs shortages are not the only problem. At New Amsterdam Hospital, the chemical analyser has been down for about two weeks which means that no biochemistry tests can be done, in addition to the microscope and the electrolyte machine.

The surgical theatre is expected to be operational by next Wednesday after a prolonged ‘illness’ of approximately six weeks.

Yours sincerely,

Haseef Yusuf,

Chairman of

Region 6

Health Committee