Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich has banned public health facilities from directing patients to buy medicines from private pharmacies, declaring the practice an illegality and a crime against citizens.
The governor said public health facilities are now receiving double funding from direct county allocations and Social Health Authority (SHA) reimbursements, saying the funds are enough to ensure a constant supply of drugs in public facilities.
The governor said any drug shortages will be blamed on the officer in charge and the pharmacist who fail to order the drugs on time, saying they will be held personally responsible for the shortages, asserting that patients should not suffer due to the negligence of health personnel.
Rotich said it’s illegal for a health facility to claim the Sh900 reimbursement paid for each patient receiving treatment at all level 1 and 2 health facilities from SHA and then send the same patient to buy drugs, yet they have already paid their SHA insurance premium.
Governor Rotich categorized the practice as an illegality and a crime against the public, especially under the SHA framework.
“It is now illegal and a crime for a patient to be sent to buy drugs from outside. Telling a patient to buy drugs while the facility has already claimed Sh900 for every patient treated in Level 1 and 2 facilities is not fair. This is wrong before God and before man,” the governor said.
To ensure constant supply, he ordered facility heads to plan at least two months in advance by placing fresh orders well before existing stocks run out.
In cases where a facility temporarily runs out of a specific medicine, Rotich said the medical personnel can get the drugs from a neighbouring facility, which they can later reimburse once they get their own supplies, saying the county has riders for faster transport.
“If a facility doesn’t have a certain drug, the officer in charge should tell the patient to wait as they send for the drug from the nearest facility using our riders instead of sending the patient to private chemists,” he said.
To ensure the strategy succeeds, the governor said every sub-county hospital will establish a functional buffer drug store to support smaller facilities under their jurisdiction, particularly those overwhelmed by high patient turnout.
Rotich said he has already directed the County Executive Committee (CEC) member for Health and facility heads to open a monthly procurement window to ensure continuous supplies.
Additionally, the governor said the county is keen to ensure that health facilities receiving a high number of patients have functional laboratories and maternity wings, adding that they have installed ultrasound machines and trained medical staff to ensure such services are accessible to residents in rural areas.
By Alice Wanjiru
