LAHORE: Shortage of life saving drugs has left patients in lurch at government hospitals across the country.
Sources in Health Department Tuesday said that hospitals were facing shortage of medicines to cure nine different diseases, including medicines to cure heart diseases and tuberculosis.
“Similarly, vaccines that are unavailable include varivac, infanrix hexa, havrix, and priorix. Birth-related drugs and hormones that are unavailable include proluton depot injections and profasi injections. Also, epivite is nutritional supplement that is not available in the market and folic acids and steroids are also unavailable. The drugs used to treat infections like fungal, viral, bacterial are also not available,” they added.
“Moreover, in the category of neuro and muscular diseases, drugs that are not available include iodex, feldene, dilantin, papaverine, ritalin, codogesic, napadoc, topamax, neuroaid, di-hydan, optalidon tablets, dorphomine, migram, and notcamid tablets.
The drugs that are unavailable in skin diseases/anti-allergy include clariderm, retin-a, grisovin tablets, minoderm 100mg tablets, avil injections and deufilm gel. Anti-depressant, anti-anxiety/pain relief drugs that are not available in the market include risperdal, zilnox 10mg, stilnox, nalbin injections, pain ease injections and Gelusil.”
Commenting on the issue, Osama Siddiqui, a professor of pharmacology, said: “This is very serious situation and leading to health disaster in the country, while patients are the ultimate sufferers.”
He added that when companies were asked about shortage of medicines, they said they were not getting enough profits and it had become unviable to produce most of these medicines.
He said that the government was not paying heed to the issue. “This is dangerous for patients as they are left in lurch with no support from the authorities concerned,” he said.
Healthcare professionals have shown grave concerns over the situation, saying patients are ultimate sufferers due to the tussle between the government and drug companies.
“Ironically, the government first allowed pharmaceutical companies to enhance price of medicines and then reverted the orders. They said that the rich were importing drugs, however, poor patients were not getting medicines.