Health Minister on Medical Supplies and Alleged Shortage

The Minister of Health and Wellness also set the record straight as it relates to reports of shortage in medical supplies at healthcare facilities across the country.  While he could not speak directly to a recent allegation made by the relative of an accident victim, that there was a shortage of a particular medication at the national referral hospital, Minister Kevin Bernard says that they have been ensuring that health facilities are adequately supplied to time.

Kevin Bernard

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness

“I will haste to answer that there is any medical shortages as per say. I am not sure what antibiotic or whatever medication was requested by K.H.M.H. or the doctors prescribed and whether K.H.M.H. had it or not – I cannot answer to that. But I can tell you this, from the time we got the tender contracts signed over the past few months and I made the commitment that by the end of October, we would have been ensuring that supplies and pharmaceutical supplies that come to this country, there have been some delays – I will not say to that. Logistically, [it is] outside of the control of the country and of the supplier. But we have been getting medications every single day and as they come in, they are inspected and they are distributed. Now remember, K.H.M.H. being a statutory body, we provide them a subvention, we provide them medications, and they also procure some of their own. So it depends. I don’t want to answer to say that specific medication that the young man needed was not part of the infirmary at the Ministry of Health, I cannot answer that. But my comment to the fact where there is perceived, exaggerated strategies that is far from the truth. I saw just yesterday, somebody sent me an issue from the Western Regional Hospital that there were no sterile gloves, just to find out that thousands of the sterile gloves were delivered last Thursday to the facility. So its not everything that is put out there is necessarily so.”