Hospitals short on medication
Published:Wednesday | June 5, 2013 | 12:00 AM
CaPRI study reveals no-user fee policy putting great pressure on medical supplies
Anastasia Cunningham, Health Coordinator
A study done by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) to review the no-user fee policy in Jamaica's public hospitals has revealed that since the system was put in place in 2008, it has led to a critical shortage of pharmaceutical and medical supplies, with the demand far outweighing the supply.
The study, conducted between April 15 and May 20 last year across all 14 parishes, found that the Bruce Golding administration did not put the necessary measures in place to effectively support the policy.
Carried out with the aid of grants from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada, The Gleaner Company, and the National Health Fund, the study was aimed at assessing the impact of the no-user fee policy on the quality of health services and the utilisation of government health facilities.
The no-user fee policy in Jamaica's public hospitals has been having a tremendous impact on pharmaceutical and medical supplies, with the demand far outweighing the supply.
This was the discovery made by Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) during a review of the system, which was introduced in 2008 under the Bruce Golding-led administration.
Conducting the study between April 15 and May 20, 2012 across all 14 parishes, the think tank found that medication and pharmaceutical supplies in the hospitals were quickly depleted because too many patients wanted free medication and the pharmacies could not keep up with the demand. It also found that certain medications were not readily available and most drugs were frequently out of stock. It was also discovered that basic drugs for diabetes and hypertension were compromised and antibiotics were always in short supply.
Some patients were forced to utilised private pharmacies and pay the premium cost for medication, because the hospital pharmacies could only partially fill their prescriptions - and, in some cases, not at all.
"There is more pressure on the resources and we cannot manage; there is just insufficient medical supplies to meet this need," was the general complaint the group received from health-care personnel.
CaPRI noted that, "Most times the pharmacy runs out of supplies. When user fees were in, the pharmacy was never out of supplies like now."
mixed views
The study further revealed that medical supplies weren't readily available before 2007, and the free health, coupled with the constricting economy, only made it worse.
CaPRI, in seeking to assess the impact of no-user fees on the quality of health services and the utilisation of government health facilities, found that while there were mixed views on the no-user-fee policy, health professionals and patients alike would not be opposed to a reform of the system.
Among those surveyed, the findings showed that more than half (59 per cent) of the doctors and nurses spoken to believed that it was a wrong decision when the user fees were abolished. However, 64 per cent of the patients agreed with the move.
Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson is expected to make an announcement soon on Government's decision on the no-user fee policy.
The study was carried out with the aid of grants from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada, The Gleaner Company Limited, and the National Health Fund.