ENB runs out of drugs

EAST New Britain provincial administrator Aquila Tubal has expressed concern about chronic management problems that are contributing to the failure in the medical supply procurement and distribution system.
He urged the Department of Health to do more in addressing the issue, saying that the stealing and sale of drugs on the streets and public markets had been going on for a long time and it was time serious steps were taken to address them.
“We cannot continue to admit there is a problem and do very little or nothing at all to resolve or improve the situation,” Tubal said.
He said rural health facilities were chronically short of most basic drugs and patients were being turned away to look elsewhere to buy drugs.
Tubal said people who had a constitutional right to receive basic healthcare were not only being denied their fundamental right but continued to tolerate “this failure by the system for many years now”.
“We must trust ourselves and look for solutions within rather than seek costly outside advisers for solutions to problems that we ourselves know better,” he said.
He said there could be a very good network of health facilities but, “if there are no drugs than the healthcare delivery system will fail leading to the health department not achieving the objectives set out in the new national health plan”.
The province is addressing this issue through a special provincial committee on medical supplies and equipment as well as the provincial law and order committee, Tubal said.