At least 11 Chihuahua hospitals are short of medicine and medical supplies, according to a state government report that says that the shortages have worsened in some health care facilities since the first quarter of 2018.

The report doesn’t specify what medications and supplies are currently lacking but when overall inventories were better a year ago, there was a dearth of ketorolac, insulin, ampicillin, paracetamol and chloramphenicol, among other drugs.

Hospitals also lacked basic supplies such as bandages, gauzes, catheters and urine drainage bags.

Sofía Calzadilla, leader of the Chihuahua Institute of Health union, confirmed that the shortage of such medications and supplies persists.

Calzadilla said that Chihuahua Health Secretary Jesús Enrique Grajeda told her that medication supplies will return to optimal levels in May after authorities take possession of new purchases.

However, there is no certainty when the same will occur for essential medical materials.

The regional hospitals in Delicias and Ciudad Jiménez and the women’s hospital in Parral are all operating with a lower supply of medicines and supplies than they had a year ago.

Several hospitals in the state, including the children’s hospital in Ciudad Juárez, have staged work stoppages in recent weeks to protest against the lack of essential healthcare supplies.

Morena party state Deputy Benjamín Carrera Chávez has called on the Chihuahua auditor’s office to conduct a special investigation.

According to a report in the newspaper El Diario, the scarcity of medicine and supplies has been exacerbated because the state government owes suppliers between 300 and 400 million pesos (US $15.6 million to $20.8 million).

Source: El Diario (sp)