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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by kobo[/i] [br][b][size=4][url="http://www.foroyaa.gm/burning-issues/15236-patients-raise-concern-over-lack-of-medicines-in-hospitals-health-centres"]Patients Raise Concern over Lack of Medicines in Hospitals, Health Centres[/url][/size=4][/b] Published on Saturday, 22 March 2014 | Written by Kebba Jeffang Patients who have visited the Jammeh Foundation hospital in Bundung and the Fajikunda and Serekunda Health Centers for treatment of various illnesses are complaining about the lack of certain drugs at the said facilities after being given prescriptions. These frequent and widespread complaints have prompted this reporter to visit the mentioned places to find out from patients and the officials alike what obtains. Visiting the Fajikunda Health Centre, a middle aged man, called Lamin Juwara, who came for malaria treatment, confirmed the lack of certain drugs at the facility, citing his own case as proof of the claim. He said he has been given a prescription after being diagnosed, but that none of the drugs indicated was unavailable in the pharmacy of the Health Centre. Mr. Juwara, however, noted that the lack of medicines at the health facilities is not news at all, adding that this has been going on for a very long time and that it is not Fajikunda alone which is affected. Another woman (name withheld) found at the Jammeh Foundation Hospital also admitted having encountered a similar experience after paying the consultation fee. She explained that the doctor prescribed some drugs for her, but some of them were not in the hospital and that she has to get them at a private pharmacy. “As a mother, I am a regular visitor to the hospital either as a patient or an escort of one of my children who gets ill. But every time I come here, I always end up at a private pharmacy because all or most of the drugs prescribed for me could not be found at the hospital’s pharmacy,” she said. She lamented the high prices of the medicines, adding that health care is very expensive for them. “We are calling for the intervention of government to provide these community hospitals with drugs to enable poor families to access health care since Banjul is far from us and involves more costs,” she appealed. At the Serekunda Health Centre, one Fanta Sambou, a patient from Wellingara, said she has been to another health center before for the same illness, but could not get medication. She said the situation at Serekunda is however not any different from the one she first visited. “I suffer from frequent stomach ache and when I came I was referred to the lab where my blood was tested and later given prescription, but it was only paracetamol which I could get from the pharmacy. The other drugs have to be purchased outside,” she complained. When enquiries were made, a nurse at the Serekunda Health confirmed the scarcity of drugs at times, but was quick to add that they are not the ones responsible. He dismissed as unfounded some of the accusations leveled against the hospital/health centre workers that they are the ones who steal the drugs that are supplied. “How can we deny people access to drugs when we are working to ensure that they receive adequate treatment for their illnesses?” he asked. He said they are not heartless people who would love to see sick people suffer because they divert drugs from hospitals to private pharmacies which charge higher. “We equally care about the health of the people because we are part of them,” he said. On why the frequent scarcity of drugs, he said the Ministry of Health is in a better position to answer this question since he is only a nurse in one of the health facilities and does not know anything about procurement and supply of drugs. The Ministry will be approached to enquire about the cause of this perennial problem of drug scarcity in public hospitals and health centres. [url="http://www.foroyaa.gm/burning-issues/15236-patients-raise-concern-over-lack-of-medicines-in-hospitals-health-centres"]Foroyaa Burning Issues News[/url] [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.