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Delay mars medicine supply to patients, staff at KGMU
In a letter to V-C, KGMU teachers’ association complained of delays in obtaining medicines under the ‘local purchase’ system, under which the hospital buys medicines not available in its pharmacies for patients and staff.
Medications are most effective when patients have early access to them. However, such is not the case when one has to rely on the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) for them. Many even wait for a month to get the prescribed medicines from the medical university, as claimed by the KGMU teachers’ association.
In its letter to vice-chancellor Prof Sonia Nityanand on Wednesday, the association complained of delays in obtaining medicines under the university’s ‘local purchase’ system, under which the hospital buys medicines not available in its pharmacies for patients and staff.
Not just patients, but the delays are also affecting its 570 faculty members, 9,000 other staff and 1,500 students, the association claimed as it even raised doubts over the quality of medicines supplied under this system. “We collected feedback from teachers and doctors, who pointed out delays in obtaining medicines via local purchase. Even the quality of medicines provided has been doubted,” the letter read.
Every day, up to 400 people, as claimed, are given assurances that they will get medicines under the KGMU’s local purchase system. “I had submitted prescription for local purchase of medicine for my father in the first week of November, but the stock of medicines is yet to arrive. I am going back to buy the medicines from a medical store on my own,” said an attendant who hailed from Rae Bareilly.
Responding to the claims, Dr Sudhir Singh, KGMU spokesperson, said, “The issue will be considered and a solution, if required, will be provided.”
The association demanded that the system be brought under a time-bound practice. “We request your office to direct the staff at the medical superintendent’s office that monitors local purchase to fix a time for supplying medicine so that patients do not face the brunt of the delay in purchase,” said the letter.
Even patients who were provided medicines under the PM and CM relief funds too face the same problem, said Prof Santosh Kumar, the general secretary of the association.
