General Hospital reeling under drug shortage

KOCHI: Even when the state Health Department has promised direct procurement and distribution of drugs to all private and public hospitals by 2012, at present it is unable to  meet even the requirements of general hospitals.  The delay in tendering and procurement of drugs by the Kerala State Medicinal Supply Corporation (KSMSC) means that even after waiting for hours at the hospital drug counter, many patients are turned away owing to the absence of essential drugs. According to the Corporation, the tendering process is still going on for 200 of the 620 drugs. The drugs have to be supplied to the hospitals in the government sector by the KSMSC. But, it says the delay in tendering and the laxity of drug  companies are the reasons for the shortage. “There has been some delay in the tendering of drugs. Owing  to the opposition from companies, we had to resort to re-tendering. We have floated  tender four times. Still, tenders have to be floated for 200 of the 620 drugs. Another issue is that some of the companies have not supplied drugs even after bagging the tender. This has created a shortage,” said Asitha, the general manager of Corporation.General Hospital superintendent Dr Junied Rehman said the hospital had been reeling under a shortage of drugs for sometime now. “The availability has reduced from what it was last year. We have raised the issue at several DMO meetings. The availability happens in pulses. Sometimes there is a sudden availability of a particular drug and after sometime it becomes unavailable. This has been the pattern,” he said. Doctors at the hospital complain that even cotton, gloves and plaster-of-paris are unavailable. In the absence of medicines at the government hospital, patients are forced to resort to private drug stores. So even poor patients lose their quota of free medicines from the hospital.Owing to the drug shortage at the general hospital, the  Dhanwanthari Medical Store next to the hospital has noted heavy sales this year. “On an average, the sales are worth about ` 1 lakh a day. Till last year, it was about `75,000-`80,000 everyday. This year, there has been times when this has gone upto as much as `1.25 lakh”, says Dhanwanthari accountant P A Ajamelon.