Shortage of medicine at Charlotte Maxeke

DA Shadow MEC for Health in Gauteng, Jack Bloom has said that many patients do not receive their medicines and either go without or have to buy them from a private pharmacy.

He noted that medicine at government hospital, when available, should be free.

“This week I was shocked by the case of Ms Shamrock Rademeyer, a 65-year-old pensioner, whose family has to spend about R6000 every month on medicine that is perennially out of stock at the hospital,” he said.

Bloom has presented the Rosebank Killarney Gazette, with a substantial and pricey list of the medication the Rademeyer family had to buy for their mother each month.

“She is quite a sick woman, she has heart problems, breathing problems and is a cancer patient… her daughter Shamaine told me that hospital pharmacists told her that the medicines are unavailable because suppliers have not been paid,” said Bloom.

He was informed by the Rademeyer family that they get four or five prescribed medicines from the hospital, but had to get 12 other prescriptions from a private pharmacy.

Bloom emphasised that this was the general situation at government hospitals, and cited the national tender issue of last year as the cause.

According to a report on the fourth quarter of last year, for the period between October to December, only 76 percent of vital medicines were available at health facilities in Gauteng Province.

“This figure is appallingly low – it means that about one in four essential medicines are not available, despite all the promises by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.”

Bloom stated that Mahlangu mentioned she was going to import stock and sign contracts with private entities to make up for the shortfall in the supply of medicine.

“The excuses for non-availability of medicine are wearing thin. Suppliers must be paid and proper ordering and distribution systems installed,” he said.