Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is staring at a shortage of essential drugs meant for critically ill and organ transplant recepients amid the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus.
A majority of medical shops in the state have already sold out medicines for diseases affecting heart, kidneys, liver and nerves. Most of these drugs which are injections stored under refrigeration, reach the state by air route. Even specialized medical stores which keep stocks of these medicines for 10 days in normal conditions, have exhausted their stock. With both domestic and international flights cancelled, no fresh stock has arrived.
Similarly, organ transplant patients used to order many of their drugs online from pharmacies outside Kerala. With the suspension of couriers services and negligable inter-state cargo transport, these medicines are in short supply. Incidentally, a majority of the transplant patients in Kerala belong to the poorer sections of society.
Insulin shortage
The state is also facing a severe shortage in insulin supplies. The drug against diabetes is supplied in Kerala by distributors in other states through courier services.
Rise in drug sales
After the lockdown was announced, the state has witnessed a 35 per cent increase in the sales of medicines compared to March 2019 as many diabetes, heart and hypertension patients stocked up the drugs anticipating a shortage. Taking this into account, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued a call not to engage in hoarding of medicines. However, drug distributors said that fresh stocks would reach the state soon.
Crisis in rural areas
Medical shops remain open in the urban centres even after the lockdown but the situation is different in the rural areas, where few outlets remain open.
In high range areas of Idukki district for instance, there is a severe shortage of cancer drugs. Moreover, patients regularly visiting the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram are in distress as no transport is available. In medical shops, cancer drugs cost five times the price at RCC and patients have demanded supply through the district hospital.
The Kidney Transplant Family Trust in Kozhikode too has pointed out that kidney patients from Kasaragod have to travel to Ernakulam for their drugs. While the endosulfan patients are anxious about regular supply of drugs, people undergoing dialysis at home in Malappuram district are facing a shortage of medicines.
To ease the shortage, some medical shops and distributors in Kozhikode are accepting orders though WhatsApp and supplying the drugs at home. The district administration in Kannur has arranged a vehicle for distributing drugs to patients at Malabar Cancer Centre.
Whom to contact for medicines
The Health Department has put in place several arrangements to make medicines available for those in need. Cancer, heart, kidney and diabetes patients can contact Anganwady, Kudumbashree, Asha and Santhwana volunteers for the purpose. While the medicines are supplied free of cost for below poverty line (BPL) families, the facility has been extended to above poverty line (APL) families also during the lockdown.
The police and Fire and Rescue Services are also engaged in this task. They have supplied drugs to 517 patients in four days. Medical College Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram and Central Police Station in Ernakulam collect the medicines, which are taken to various parts of the state by the Highway Police. Those in need can send the WhatsApp image of the prescription to the police. Payment can be made when the drug is handed over at the house. Fire and Rescue may be similarly contacted.
Phone numbers: Police - 112; Fire - 101.
The Kerala Medical Services Corporation is also stocking medicines worth Rs 5.78 crore and the first stock has arrived.
At the same time, chairman of the Kidney Federation of India Fr. Davis Chirammal has said that the government should make special arrangements to distribute medicines for transplant patients. Police have to issue passes for the purpose and a hotline must be introduced, he said.
Enough stocks have to be made available at fair-price medical shops like Karunya and Jan Oushadhi, Kidney Care Kerala chairman P P Krishnan opined.
Sixty per cent of the medicines now reach the sales depots in Kerala from Himachal Pradesh and other north Indian states by road. However, with distribution firms working with skeletal staff and lack of transport facilities in state, it has become impossible to take this stock to other districts. In view of this situation, there have been demands to totally drug distributors from the lockdown.
