Srinagar: Rafiq Ahmad (name changed) had to return disappointed from the hospital pharmacy as he couldn’t get an Ondansetron injection for his mother.
“This is the second time I returned empty-handed from the hospital pharmacy,” a distressed son said, as he is single-handedly attending to his mother in the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, hospital, (SKIMS) Soura.
Rafiq’s predicament is shared by hundreds of patients and their relatives in the major tertiary care hospital in the wake of a shortage of life-saving drugs for the last several weeks.
Established in 1982, Kashmir health care is largely dependent on SKIMS where thousands of people visit daily for treatment.
However, the supply of around 21 life-saving drugs at the premier health institute of the valley is disrupted at present.
“Some 21 drugs including several life-saving medicines are not available at the hospital for the last over a month. They include Protamine Sulfate, Isoprenaline, Ondansetron injection, and several other drugs including anti-rabies,” an official said.
Protamine sulfate is a medication that is used to reverse the effects of heparin. “It is specifically used in heparin overdose, in low molecular weight heparin overdose, and to reverse the effects of heparin during delivery and heart surgery. It is given by injection into a vein,” he said.
Likewise, Isoprenaline, or isoproterenol (Brand name: Isoprenaline Macure), is a medication used for the treatment of bradycardia (slow heart rate), heart block, and rarely for asthma.
While Ondansetron injection is used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy and surgery. “These drugs have to be purchased from the hospital budget and shall be kept available free of cost to the patients. “But nobody seems concerned about procuring these drugs,” the official said.
Medical Superintendent SKIMS Dr. Farooq Jan told The Kashmir Monitor that the majority of the life-saving drugs are available at the hospital.
“Sometimes, we face purchasing issues and have to follow the financial code. We have placed orders for a few unavailable drugs and they will be procured soon,” Jan said.
