Chief Executive Officer of the lone Barbados hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has blamed drug shortages to debt, budget cuts and now to mix ups in drug shipments.
According to Dr. Dexter James, he was concerned about comments he had heard regarding “compromising health care” and patient safety. An adamant James said that health care to Barbadians would not be compromised and that the hospital was having cash flow problems.
More recently, Dr. Carlos Chase, head of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) said that doctor fees may rise sharply as a result of reinsurance from outside agencies for malpractice coverage and this cost may have to be borne by the patient in private care. The QEH is currently free to Barbadian citizens but also operates a private care facility, the prices of which suddenly rose by 75% last week.
In addition, Chase bemoaned the shortage of medication last year and the possibility that patient care could be compromised, when it was announced that there were shortages of drugs and possible malfunctioning incubators for new-born babies. This was disclosed in a series of e-mails that made their way to the Nation Newspaper and paid advertising by BAMP in the Sunday Sun of the same Newspaper.
Jittery patients
Currently, the hospital has run short of several key medications for chemotherapy, kidney disease, eye disease and even hypertension, the press alleged.
In a report of April 8th, the Nation Newspaper said that kidney patients were extremely “jittery” when they add up the cost of medication for kidney disease. Two weeks ago, the CEO had indicated that the public would now have to pay for dialysis done at home through the QEH.
High-priced mircera is among the drugs that are currently unavailable or in short supply. This drug is approximately BDD$1000 at a private pharmacy. A single injection of 100mg can run a patient into BDD$383 while a phial of venofer which will last about five weeks will cost a patient BDD$85 and a three week supply of recormon costs BDD$204. However, Mr. James has assured panicking patients that the drugs will be in Barbados.
“The general drugs for dialysis should be resolved in a couple of days. In the meantime, the treating physicians have written prescriptions for others. But this is the first time I am hearing about issues relating to patient care”, he said.
Earlier in March, James had admitted that there was a shortage of drugs for pulmonary disease as well. At that time, he had also said that the matter of drug shortages for cancer, kidney disease, eye disease and pulmonary disease would be addressed “shortly”.
While admitting to a cash flow problem, James said that a shipment of drugs was mixed up from the United States end and that a worldwide shortage of drugs existed in some cases, according to the Nation Newspaper.
Many of the drugs that are out of stock are so, due to non-payment to creditors in the millions of dollars, a matter that James also said would be rectified shortly.
“The hospital has a responsibility to procure the drugs and ensure that patient care is not compromised”, he said.
While kidney patients continue to panic, James assured the public that the matter will soon be resolved and thanked the patients for their “sense of solidarity” in paying for their own medication.
