No meds for psychiatric patient
The family can't afford to buy the medication needed as three of the members are on disability grants.
EIGHT months.
This is how long a Wentworth Hospital psychiatric patient has been without his medication. Anthony Skinner, 57, of Woodlands suffers from schizoaffective disorder and said that his medication is vital to his well-being.
“The shortage of medication has had a reverse effect on me, I’m relapsing. Without my medication, I start getting depressed and hearing voices. Eight months ago they stopped giving me my medicine, telling me it was out of stock and it’s been out of stock every month since then,” he said.
Skinner added that if the hospital had the medication, it was rarely enough for a month’s supply. “They didn’t give me all of my nebuliser mixtures, they told me they were low on stock, and only gave me 10 sticks. I’m whizzing and I battle to breathe. I’m supposed to get two ecohalers, they give me one every two months and sometimes I don’t get it at all. But it’s not just me, it’s my niece, sister, and mother.”
According to his family, without their medication, both siblings experience hallucinations, with Skinner being suicidal. They said they’ve complained to the hospital’s public relations officer as well as the chief executive officer, but nothing came of it.
“A sister in the psychiatric ward told me that I get my medication for free, so I must not complain. What’s out of stock from my medication is my diabetic tablets, heartburn tablets and sleeping tablets” said Skinner’s sister, 55-year-old Browen Lievenberg. “The doctor gave me a prescription to buy the medicine myself, but I’m a disability pensioner, so I can’t afford it.”
She added that her family couldn’t afford to buy the medication they needed as three of her family members were on disability grants while her mother receives a pension.
KZN Department of Health spokesperson, Noluthando Nkosi, said, “The department is aware of a stock shortage of some drugs which is caused by challenges around the supplier. However, for the most part, alternative medication has been given to patients. The department apologises for any inconvenience caused and urges patients to inform their doctors if the interim medication is ineffective.”
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