Shape up or ship out” was Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence’s message to sector workers Monday during the feature address of the one-day Logistic Management Information System (LMIS) workshop at the Pegasus Hotel in the capital.
A section of the gathering at the logistics management workshop on Monday at the Pegasus Hotel
The workshop eyed on ‘Improving Access and Availability of Medicines and Medical Supplies in Guyana through Strengthening of the Public Health Logistics Management Information System’, a document circulated at the event indicated.
Lawrence is demanding that the public health sector be more sensitive and responsive to patients’ medical needs and to eradicate sloth.
“Failure to have an effective data system with regard to supply and distribution of drugs can place excessive burdens on other sectors of our Health Delivery, so it is paramount that immediate steps are taken to understand and strengthen our data input and management system,” she told participants.
The Minister reminded sector officials that “the Ministry of Public Health has a mandate to fulfil which necessitates the effective distribution of medicines and medical supplies in order to improve the overall delivery of primary healthcare and advance the well-being of all citizens.”
Lawrence, who is relatively new as Public Health Minister, is nevertheless distressed by the “negative reports that were being aired regard to access and availability of medicines and medical supplies and the need for us to upgrade our Logistics System,” she told the workshop.
The LMIS, which is targeted for computerisation shortly, has to ‘shape up’ because it is the key to “good decisions… to ensure product availability and reliable customer service,” Lawrence said.
Monday’s programme was a collaboration among the Public Health Ministry, the United States Agency for International Development Global Health Supply Chain Programme- Procurement and Supply Management (USAID GHSC-PSM), the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) and PEPFAR.
It was aimed at improving access and availability of medicines and medical supplies in Guyana through strengthening of the Public Health LMIS. This is part of the Ministry’s effort to address the drug shortage crisis in each of the country’s 10 Administrative Regions and attracted participants from among the senior staff of the Material Management Unit Supply Chain Management System, Directors of the Public Health Ministry, Regional Health Officers and stakeholder organisations involved in procurement of drugs and medical supplies.
Meanwhile, Country Director of the USAID GHSC-PSM Caroline Healey said that her organisation and its predecessor have been working to support the sustainable supply of critical sector commodities since 2006.
Guyana, she noted, has been a pioneer within and outside the Caribbean as the first to procure HIV/AIDS commodities; the first to establish an accurate supply planning system; and also the first to establish and operate a modern warehouse.
Additionally, PAHO/WHO Representative Dr William Adu-Krow had a blunt assessment of the LMIS in the health sector.
“Either the system is not working, maybe we don’t have the right people or maybe the environment is not conducive,” Dr Adu-Krow said. He urged stakeholders to view themselves as managers and assist more in supervising the procurement and consumption of drugs and medical supplies.
