Director of the Berbice Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens says a plan has been devised to address drug shortages that have plagued the region recently.
In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), Stephens said that following consultations between the Ministry of Public Health and its Materials Management Unit (MMU), a plan along with a schedule for the delivery of medical supplies was developed.
“The schedule for delivery states that once a request is made in a timely manner drugs will also be delivered in a timely manner…drugs are being delivered on the first Tuesday of every month now,” Stephens said.
A shortage of medical supplies was experienced in late November going into December 2015 last year.
(We) “weren’t receiving drugs and supplies on request. We sent cribs (requisition sheets for medical supplies) to MMU…sometimes six weeks in advance but there was a delay in delivery… then we even sent our own trucks to transport the supplies but always had issues of packing and availability,” Stephens told GINA.
The Director also said that the region was requesting medication based on consumption but was only receiving about half of what was sought and that was contributing to the shortage.
In addition to having supplies delivered in a timely manner, the Health Services Department intends to request drugs on a quarterly basis instead of monthly.