No shortage of medicine in govt hospitals

PASIR GUDANG: There is no shortage of medicine in government hospitals for outpatients and in-patients in the State, said Johor Health and Environment committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat (pix).
He said patients are of the view there is shortage of medicine due to hospitals only dispensing prescriptions for one or two weeks as compared to one month previously.
"The reason why we only give a one to two week supply of medications is to prevent wastage. We find patients tend to waste the medicines and furthermore when they return, the doctors can also monitor their health condition and progress," he said after officiating a seminar on Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi) programme at Taman Mawar multi-purposes hall here today.
Ayub said the hospitals also encourage patients to return unconsumed medicines instead of throwing them away.
"Some non-communicable diseases need to be monitored regularly. That is why doctors prescribe their medications either for a week or two weeks," he added.
On when the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA)'s intensive care unit will resume operation, he said, they were awaiting the report from the independent panel appointed by the Health Ministry.
He said the state had submitted a RM12 million upgrading plan for the HSA and can start work only upon receiving the independent panel report.
On Oct 25, a fire at Sultanah Aminah Hospital's ICU resulted in the death of six patients.
On dengue, Ayub said Johor has recorded a 75% drop in dengue cases this year.
As of Feb 4 this year, he said, 636 cases with three deaths in Kluang, Segamat and Johor Baru were reported compared to 2,617 cases and one death during the same period last year.