Focus on Covid-19 has disrupted medical supplies

By LULU MARK
THE focus on Covid-19 response preparation has disrupted the routine distribution of medical supplies resulting in the Arawa Hopital in Bougainville scaling down its operations, an official says.
Autonomous Region of Bougainville Health secretary Clement Totavun confirmed that the hospital ran out of consumables, especially laboratory reagents, but the medicine stock was okay.
“Basically because we have been focused on the Covid-19 response, it has affected some of our normal operation so as soon as everything settles, we will start to bring in supplies in the normal supply distribution process that we normally follow,” he said.
“But again we have planes bringing the personal protect equipment and other things but really it’s focused on the preparations for the Covid-19 response while it has basically affected other basic routine supply.”
The supply routine was disrupted because flights were restricted due the Covid-19.
Totavun said the scale-down had to be done because consumables were requirements for activities such as operations in the theatres and the work was underway to bring them in.
He said the function of the procurement of medical supplies was still with the Health Department so supplies were already packed and waiting for shipment from the area medical store in Kokopo.
As part of a short-term measure, the team at Arawa was tasked to provide details so that the items would be procured while waiting for supplies from Health Department, Totavun said.
“We are now working with the NDOH to ensure that the routine supplies are delivered on time now that we have planes coming into Buka.
“So really, it’s not as bad as people might think but it’s because the situation was a little bit affected because all our focus was centred on the Covid-19 response.”