Hospitals yet to get drugs a week after MSD resumed distribution

Many hospitals have not received medicines from the Medical Stores Department (MSD) well about a week after the supplier admitted that it has started delivering them to health facilities.

Surveys conducted by this paper in various publi
c hospitals in the city have show that many patients are still referred to pharmacies located outside hospitals to purchase drugs instead of getting them within the facilities.

The surveys were conducted at Amana, Temeke, Mwananyamala and Sinza (Palestine) hospitals.

Some of the patients interviewed told this paper that they are compelled to buy medicines at prices which they cannot afford because of the prevailing shortage.

Juma Tanda, a patient admitted at Amana Hospital, said his relatives are obliged to buy medicines outside the hospital because the facility is yet to get supplies from MSD.

Tanda said that the situation becomes worse, especially when his relatives fail to afford the price of medicines sold by the pharmacies.

“You cannot compare the price of medicines dispensed at the hospital to that sold in the commercial pharmacies because most of the latter are after profit,” he observed calling on the government to fasten the drug distribution process.

Another patient admitted to Sinza (Palestine) Hospital, Anna Michael said the situation has become worse due to the fact that patients fail to get the right services needed in the health centre.

According to Michael, she has been compelled to seek medical services at a private hospital though they are expensive her dear life matters most.

Information from MSD said that the situation will come to stabilise after four months as the department continues to supply in the medicines.

Reports given MSD earlier claimed that the supplier had ended the standoff that denied public hospitals medicines for months due to failure by the government to settle 90bn/- it owed department.

Commenting on the situation, MSD Public Relations Officer Benjamin Masanja said although the department has been paid the money the flow of medicines will still go slow.
All this was a caused by payments delays to the drug suppliers, some of whom may have not received their money up to now.

“We have at least paid some part of the money though there is a need to fasttrack the payment for a smoother supply of medicines,” he said.

According to Masanja, the flow of medicines may take three to four months to normalise, he said mentioning the other reason hindering the process as logistics which takes time to be accomplished.

However, Masanja said that the prevailing shortage of medicines in various public hospitals will continue countrywide due to slow supply. Last week, Masanja admitted that MSD received ‘some money’ from the government but did not offer any specifics even though sources place the amount at 50bn/-

Taking the opportunity to defend MSD, Masanja said: “The public should know that the Department did not refuse to supply medicines to the hospitals but it failed to do so because it had no money and the hospitals had huge debts.”

“We failed to order or distribute drugs due to little capital as most of the public hospitals did not pay their debts on time,” he insisted.

Confirming the delivery of medicines, one of the hardest hit hospitals by the shortage crisis, Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) said it received a delivery from MSD on Wednesday last week worth 200m/-.

However, MNH Public Relations Officer Aminiel Aligaesha warned that the delivered drugs were expected to last only a month.
 “We will continue to receive the drugs as we have ordered, the public should not worry over shortage of medicines at the hospital anymore,” he reassured.