DR KELVIN Yii has called for immediate intervention from the Federal Government and the Health Ministry (MOH) to assist healthcare facilities in Sarawak and also other states that are running low on medicine supplies.
This is in view of a report regarding the private Children and Heart Specialist Clinic in Miri complaining about running out of common pediatrics medications including salbutamol syrups to treat acute or severe asthma.
He further noted remarks from Sarawak Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian, who said mentioned that some private clinics in Miri have already stopped seeing patients after their drug supplies ran out.
“This is a serious medical predicament or even possibly a crisis if not dealt with immediately as our patients will continue to suffer and, in worse-case scenarios, may lead to unwanted consequences as some of these conditions are life-threatening if the patients are unable to obtain the necessary medications immediately,” Dr Yii said.
The DAP lawmaker said last week he had warned that this issue is slowly rippling through the healthcare system and that it is only a matter of time before the public feels its effects, especially once the stockpiles – including generic drugs – are gone and it may be too late to do anything.
He also proposed that MOH create a mechanism, for certain critical medications, to enable private medical practitioners to issue prescriptions for their patients, who can then get their prescriptions filled at government pharmacies – either for free or at a charge – without needing to undergo referral and consultation at public clinics or hospitals.
For this, Dr Yii proposed setting the type of prescription pad and format for public health care facilities needed to accept and fill medical prescriptions from the private sector.
“On top of that, after the extensive audit of medical stocks, there should be a system where prescriber can see where the stocks are available and list down the places so they know where to refer patients to,” he said.
Dr Yii, who also chairs the Dewan Rakyat special select committee of health, science and innovation, noted that “this is no ordinary medicine shortage” amid global pharmaceutical supply chain issues triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s recent lockdowns and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“That is why since the beginning, I urged MOH for a clear policy to address the current shortage of medicines on top of a longer-term ‘national medicine security strategy’ to be devised to prevent future drug shortages in Malaysia, given the country’s current vulnerable position as a net importer of pharmaceutical products,” he commented.
“Do not let our patients – including our children – suffer especially when there is no pro-active measure to oversee this issue and properly implement a mechanism and plan to address it holistically.”
Malaysia’s entire supply of finished pharmaceutical products is either directly imported or indirectly imported for local manufacture via the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) – the active component of a drug.
Neither Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin nor the Sarawak state health department have yet to issue a statement in response to the plea for help from the Children and Heart Specialist Clinic to Miri Hospital to share medicine supplies with it. – June 13, 2022
