Somebody has to accept blame for medicine shortage

SOMEBODY has to cop the blame for the shortage of medicine in the country.
Whoever who he or she is must admit to the people that the situation today would not have come about if he or she had resolved the matter quickly before it developed into a crisis situation.
Borneo Pharmacy Limited’s three-year contract to supply medicine to the Health Department expired last November. It should have been extended, or a new supplier identified, well before that expiry date. Six months prior at least, one would expect.
It was not done. Someone or some officials were sitting on it and were forced to do something quickly about it when the drug shortage first surfaced.
It is totally unacceptable. Today, the whole health system and, most importantly, the taxpayers who pay the officials’ salaries, are paying the price. They have to buy their own medicine.
It is all because of the delay in contracting a new pharmaceutical supplier which is the administrative responsibility of the Health Department. When Borneo’s contract expired in November last year, a new supplier should have taken over the medicine supply process. It should have been a swift transition.
Those in the system know that procuring of medicines can take up to six months just to get them into the country, plus another month to send them from Port Moresby to other provinces.
The drug shortage can adversely affect drug therapy, compromise or delay medical procedure resulting in medication errors.
The Health Secretary himself this week said the process for ordering and supplying a minimum set of medical supplies across this country was very complex.
He gave credit to the health system at every level that a process for the delivery of health kits over the past five years had been successfully accomplished. Reports say combating vaccine preventable diseases remains a major challenge in PNG because of inaccessibility, weak infrastructure and cold chain systems, funding, poverty and social inequities that all contribute to low immunisation coverage.
While we wait for the final process of the contract-awarding to take place, the message given to the taxpaying public is to look after yourselves, do not fight, or drink and drive, and always wash your hands and to ensure that your children are in a clean and safe environment.
This may sound trivial but this is reality as some hospitals are reporting a shortage of medicine while others have completely run out of stock.
This why the National Doctor’s Association is requesting everyone to take care of themselves as medical officers can only perform their duties with the resources they have.
Doctors use medicine to save lives and cure diseases and sicknesses. Without medicine and funding, one cannot accept doctors to help patients.
One way of helping ourselves is to start saving money in case we will need to buy medicines from pharmacies or private hospitals.
The sad reality is that not everyone can afford to purchase medicines from pharmacies or private hospitals.
Let alone in rural areas, where there are no pharmacies or private hospitals.
The doctors association have called on the public to take care of themselves as the doctors would not be able to perform their duties to the best of their abilities with the limited stock they have in supply.
And one cannot tell them to manage their stock level to last for an intended period as no one knows when an outbreak can strike.
And we all hope a decision will be made soon so the procurement process can start. The whip must be cracked now, otherwise this whole laid-back attitude among some senior officials will continue.
On a positive note, secretary Kase says the department realises that improvements can be made in the overall procurement system.
He is working with donor agencies to review procurement processes and strengthen the underlying supply systems.
The process of improving the manner in which much needed medical supplies are delivered to the right place at the right time will continue.
This is good news as we are comforted by the fact that when this new contract is nearing its expiry term, the process of renewing or calling for a new one will start six months prior.
It does not take an Einstein to figure something like that out. Planning and effective management, as most senior officials are aware of, are important.