Chronic medicine shock

Thousands of patients with chronic conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure and epilepsy could be living without their lifesaving drugs because of a shortage of chronic medicine in the Western Cape. According to the Cape Metro Health Forum, some of the medicines had been out of stock since last year.

Chairwoman Damaris Kiewiets said the medicines that were out of stock included those for cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy tablets, including medicine used by stroke patients. She said some had been out of stock for more than three months, and in some cases there were no replacement drugs, putting many patients at risk of relapse. Sithembiso Magubane, spokesman for the department of health confirmed the shortage, and said it originated from problems with the tendering system of the National Department of Health. He said the medicine tenders that were awarded late by the National Department of Health in the last part of 2014, have largely resulted in stock shortages for medicine for chronic conditions. These shortages are national.

Magubane said the provincial department receives quantities of stock each day, allocates them to facilities and distributes in smaller quantities so as to ensure that the medicines received are distributed across the department to its hospitals, community health centres and clinics. Kiewiets labelled the shortage an infringement of patient rights. She said the shortages, which dated back to 2010, could be having an impact on the burden of diseases in the province. Magubane said the province had specialist pharmacologists who advised on the alternative medicines to be used. The national department had also made provision for importing some of these medicines if necessary. He said the situation was, however, improving.

Cape Argus, 20 March 2015