DA finds dangerous medicine shortage at PE's Livingston Hospital 

05 November 2014

The DA has found massive medicine stock-outs at Livingston Hospital in Port Elizabeth during an oversight visit earlier this week. 

Our visit revealed that Livingston is currently short of the following critical medicines to deal with chronic diseases:

ACE Inhibitors needed to treat hypertension;

Furosemide for treating water retention linked usually to heart failure and liver disease;

Ashma pumps for adults and children during this time of seasonal change when they are needed most;

Syringes are running out.

Multi-drug Resistance TB drugs are running out.

Oral hypoglycemic drugs are running out.

I will today write to the Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, to request that he immediately intervenes to ensure that this hospital is stocked with the necessary medicines to treat its patients. Running out of medicine could be life threatening. 

If government fails to stock our hospitals, it is literally putting people's lives at risk, it cannot be ignored. 

I will, together with other DA colleagues be conducting a national "stock-in" campaign, to systematically conduct oversight of health facilities in every province over the next three weeks. We will try to assist all health facilities that are struggling to get the medicines they need. 

Livingston was our first oversight visit, and if the situation at Livingston Hospital is anything to go by, medicine stock-outs could be a very serious problem in our health facilities. 

The Department of Health bungled the tender for medicine distribution, by announcing it too late. This has resulted in stock not arriving on time. In some instances old medicine lines are being phased out and new ones phased in, with no training provided to the health professionals charged with administrating and dispensing the medication to patients. 

This is an extraordinary failure by the Health Department, and was entirely preventable. 

The DA expects urgent action on rectifying the situation at Livingston Hospital. South Africans are dying because of these shortages and something must be done immediately. 

Statement issued by Dr Wilmot James MP, DA Shadow Minister of Health, November 5 2014

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