The KwaZulu-Natal portfolio committee on health found that stock and medicines were available at the Provincial Pharmaceutical Supply Depot.
Image: Independent Media
An oversight visit to the Provincial Pharmaceutical Supply Depot gave the KwaZulu-Natal portfolio committee on health, led by chairperson Dr Imran Keeka, some of the answers they needed to understand the province’s medicine shortages.
Thursday’s oversight visit was initiated due to public complaints and facility visits.
The oversight came days after a follow-up meeting with the KZN Health Department on progress in the medicine shortage issue. Meetings were held on February 18 and March 18.
Keeka stated that the committee is duty-bound to conduct oversight and determine the truthfulness of statements made by Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and her department.
Provincial Pharmaceutical Supply Depot revelations
Keeka said they found a well-run facility under difficult circumstances.
“We understand that there are budgetary constraints both for the procurement of medicines as well as for the maintenance and uptake of the facility itself,” Keeka said.
He said the financial constraint affects the medicine supply in different ways.
“We are having a problem and it’s not a secret matter that KwaZulu-Natal’s financial situation in the Department of Health is affecting the supply of medicines, in terms of payment,” Keeka said.
“But when we visited the facility, we found that stock was available and that medicines were there.”
Keeka said the scheme and method of supply that KZN and all provinces have are outdated and archaic and catching up with the modern times and creating difficulties for facilities.
KwaZulu-Natal portfolio committee on health chairperson Dr Imran Keeka.
Image: File
Keeka said the reality of the situation is that there is a shortage of essential items such as pregnancy tests. A visit to the central pharmaceutical supply depot confirmed that they did not have adequate stock.
“This has significant implications for the entire province where women are seen and where pregnancy tests are needed,” Keeka said.
“When we queried with the facility manager as to why there is a shortage, she was able to demonstrate to us giving us documentary evidence that it was a supplier issue.”
Keeka continued: “There are several other medicines that are low on stock, not stockouts, but low on stock, and we received documentary evidence to demonstrate that it was indeed a supplier issue. However, alternate suppliers through the National Department of Health, are in the process of being sourced.
“We did see that items that were low on stock were being supplied by another supplier.”
On antivenom shortages, Keeka said that through the Section 21 application, which is a special application, to bypass the normal registration process of medicines in the country, or to import unregistered medicines, they saw that a Section 21 process was used and the depot had enough stock.
“We were told that they had 300 vials of antivenom particular to the snakes in our province. So stock was available,” Keeka said.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za