Mumbai: Despite the state-run Jamshetji Jeejeebhoy (JJ) hospital having formed a three-member committee to keep a tab on essential medicines stocks required daily, the hospital is still reeling under a huge shortage over the past few months. Officials from the hospital administration said the delay is on part of Haffkine Biopharma as they send their requirements to them. Though they procure the medicine from local vendors, they still fall short.
A visit to the hospital by this reporter revealed that patients were not getting medicines like paracetamol, Azithromycin, doxycycline, diclofenac sodium, and syrups like Asthalin, Cetirizine, Azee among others.
“My 14-month-old-infant has been suffering from a cold, fever and sore throat for the last 10 days. At the OPD, the doctor prescribed Syrup Asthalin, Syrup Azee and Asthalin but none were available at the hospital pharmacy. They said right now we don't have medicine in stock," said Priyanka Mishra, Lalbagh resident.
Other patients coming in for treatment also complained of similar issues and rued the fact that the biggest state-run governmenthospitalJJis running out of medicines. Due to the unavailability of basic medicine, patients have no option left but to buy medicines from outside.
Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean of, JJ hospital, said she is aware of the drug shortage. The management has formed a three-member committee to check the daily stock, yet. The hospital faced the same problem which needed to be checked again. They did procure 10 per cent of medicine stock locally to overcome the shortage, she informed.
“I will be holding a meeting with the team to cross-check the current stock of medicine. I myself will check the stock daily so that patients who need essential medicines can avail of the same at the hospital pharmacy,” she said.
Daily, around 4,000 patients come to OPD in JJ hospital and hundreds of patients get admitted, according to the dean.
“There is no delay on our part. We have sent our requirement to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) in September 2021. From there it goes to Haffkine which procures the stock and supplies for all the medical colleges in Maharashtra. We will soon get our stock replenished,” a senior health official from the hospital said.
However, repeated calls and messages by The Free Press Journal senior officials at Haffkine Biopharmaceutical went unanswered.
Most of the patients visiting the hospital are from economically weaker sections, many of whom cannot afford and have to depend on hospitals to provide them with basic medicines. They are left in the lurch since the hospital has run out of stock. Even patients suffering from common issues like toothache, fever, cough, and allergy also do not get the basic medicine.
"I have a toothache. Since I do not have the money to go to a private hospital, I came here to JJ hospital from Wadala. The medicine that my doctor prescribed is not available in the hospital. What is the use of coming to such a big hospital if they can't provide basic medicine?" lamented Saeeda khan (48) a Wadala resident.
“There is a list of around 40 medicines that need to be given from the hospital patients for free, but right now we have only15 to20of those medicines in stock,” a source from the hospital said.
“We don't even have many intravenous medicines for the patients who are admitted to the hospital. For example, oxytocin is an injection that is used in Operation theatre during delivery. Around a thousand vials are required in a week but we have very limited stock. The hospital is purchasing on their level and we are asking donors to donate through CSR. We informed senior authorities about the scarcity of medicines,” he added.
