Close to $20 million in pharmaceuticals is being lost annually because of wastage, Government Senator Vasant Bharath says.
There was no shortage of pharmaceuticals, he said, rather, they were being wasted because there was no stock-taking system in place at C 40 in Chaguaramas, where the Health Ministry’s pharmaceuticals were stored.
“They are stored in corridors, in shacks out in the rain. It’s a complete disaster,” Bharath said, referring to the system that had been in place for decades.
He said the Health Ministry would soon be inviting tenders for the construction of a proper pharmaceutical warehouse facility which recently was approved by Cabinet.
He said under the new system, a radio frequency would track the movement of the pharmaceuticals.
Bharath said people who were supposed to account for the pharmaceuticals could not currently be held accountable because of the lack of a monitoring system.
As a result, there were major leakages of pharmaceuticals from C 40, he said.
Bharath was making his contribution to a motion calling for a review of the regional health authorities in the Senate yesterday.
In a few weeks, too, the Government will launch the National Health Card for all citizens.
This will greatly enhance the dispensation of prescription medicine, Bharath said.
The cards will enable the tracking of patients in any location in a medical emergency, improve record keeping and reduce the risk of errors and fraud.
Bharath, comparing the delivery of health care between the last administration and this Government, recalled the $584 million cost overrun on the Scarborough Hospital project.
The PNM began the hospital in 2003 with $135 million through the Inter-American Development Bank.
Construction halted in 2006, by which time the cost had increased to $719 million, he said.