Meds ‘stabilised’ – Department of Health
Reports of parents not being able to have children vaccinated, and patients with chronic illnesses not having access to medicine at local clinics and hospitals remain rife.
POLOKWANE – While the MEC for Health earlier ascribed the non-distribution of medicine to a new system being used, Aaron Motsoaledi, the Minister of Health, on Tuesday during a press conference at the Office of the Premier said it was resolved that the provincial government would continue with the new computer system.
This followed earlier meetings with various stakeholders, after last week’s medicine crisis as the result of a new computer system installed three months ago at medicines depot in Limpopo, which left the depot with a huge backlog in distributing medication to clinics and hospitals and the depot reverting back to dispense medicine manually.
Three persons will be dispatched to the province to resolve whatever problems pitch up and three persons will shuttle between Limpopo and the Northern Cape to support both the provinces when problems with the new system are encountered, Motsoaledi said.
The head of this team will report directly to the minister and the MEC. A technical team comprising the national and provincial Departments of Health, and the Limpopo Treasury had been established to be at hand in case of any problems that need to be resolved.
Motsoaledi said the new system was a warehousing system designed to stamp out all forms of corruption as operators cannot manipulate the system.
It also is designed to detect a range of other problems in terms of medicine, delivery, supply and demand.
He said the current resistance against the new system can be resolved with adequate staff training.
The 10 depots in the country use four different electronic systems to manage stock and ensure hospitals and clinics had enough supplies.
The Auditor-General in 2011 performed the country’s first ever performance audit on the management of pharmaceuticals at the Department of Health’s facilities throughout the country, taking five years to complete.
The AG found all the systems to be obsolete and problematic and recommended that a uniform system be implemented. The national Treasury then called a meeting with all stakeholders and it was concluded that a new system would be procured to be used in all provinces.
The new system was piloted in the Northern Cape in March 2017 where it experienced a lot of technical teething problems which were eventually resolved.
Motsoaledi said there was no deadline on when the system would be implemented in the other provinces.
Following visits by the MEC, HOD and the DDG for tertiary and academic health services, depot processes have been streamlined since last week and distributors engaged to increase their capacity. Districts sent pharmacists and assistants to assist depot staff, who worked extra hours.
More than half of the facilities received full stock complement and other facilities received emergency supplies. The other facilities will receive full stock this week.
• Motsoaledi also confirmed a shortage of ARVs containing lamovidin, as Chinese factories producing the medicines were closed due to environmental issues.
A temporary solution was found by importing stock from India, but this will not last long, he said. In some cases, patients are put on alternative medication.
He did concede, however that patients could become resistant to medication if it is not taken continuously.
