Drug shortages threaten patients’ safety and treatment prospects
LIBYA – Dr Abdulhafeez Al-Jehani, head of the Libyan Society of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, has warned that shortages of medicines and medical supplies are one of the most serious challenges facing the health sector, and could force medical teams to postpone non-emergency operations or cancel them at the last minute, even after patients have arrived and fasted in preparation for surgery, because anaesthetic drugs or basic supplies are unavailable.
Al-Jehani said repeated postponements could cause a patient’s condition to deteriorate and turn semi-urgent cases into emergencies, making surgery harder and reducing its chances of success.
Shortages cover chronic disease drugs and surgical supplies
In exclusive comments to the Al Jazeera Net website, Al-Jehani said the shortages include kidney and transplant drugs, oncology drugs, diabetes medicines and insulin, and painkillers, as well as surgical sutures, gauze, disinfectants, gloves, sterile tubing, ventilator tubes, anaesthesia machine connectors, oxygen masks, intravenous catheters, and blood transfusion and dialysis supplies.
Interrupted immunosuppressants and the risk of losing transplanted kidneys
He stressed the danger of interruptions in immunosuppressant drugs for kidney transplant patients, warning that this could lead to the loss of the transplanted kidney and a return to chronic dialysis, and arguing that the health authorities’ failure to provide them causes patients a major health loss.
He added that shortages of oncology drugs push some patients to buy them from private pharmacies or travel abroad for treatment, and could force families to sell their cars or gold or take on debt to cover the cost.
Risks of unregulated medicines and procedural delays
Al-Jehani warned that some medicines are arriving through channels that are not subject to oversight or do not comply with refrigeration and distribution requirements, which could expose patients to drugs of unknown origin or that do not meet specifications.
He attributed part of the delay in treatment reaching patients to the many procedures involving the bodies responsible for determining needs, the Ministry of Health, the budget, the Central Bank of Libya and the oversight bodies, warning that this delay could last until a patient’s condition deteriorates or their chances of benefiting from treatment decline.
