Drug shortages in Region 2

…patients complain of being asked to purchase basic medication

Residents in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) are complaining of having to purchase basic medication owing to the lack of drugs and medical supplies at the two public hospitals and health posts there.
Many of the residents related that often they were given prescriptions to purchase

medication from pharmacies which most of them cannot afford.
When contact was made with Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt on the shortages of drugs, he acknowledged same to be true. Ramdatt said that an analysis of the Region’s Budgetary Allocations and Expenditures for 2017 shows that Region Two was given $186, 099,000 in its 2017 Budget. Of this amount, Ramdatt said, only $2,000,000 were released up to the end of September 2017.
He said it must be made clear that the regional health officials have done all that was necessary to secure the much-needed financial resources to procure drugs and medical supplies.
At a recent meeting held at the Finance Ministry, the matter was discussed and a commitment was given that available funds from the Region’s allocation would be released.
Ramdatt said while he was pleased with such a decision, his major concern was for the authorities to closely review the systems that were in place so that Region Two could have adequate medical supplies.
“Our people in Region Two are faced with the burden of having to spend their own cash to purchase medications. Patient care providers/staff in the health sector are finding it difficult to work without basic medical supplies,” Ramdatt further explained.
“We are already in October, the final quarter of this year, and approximately $184,000,000 remain unspent under this budgetary line and patients/residents are suffering,” Ramdatt added.