Kerala hospitals told to maintain medicine stocks to prevent treatment disruptions

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said officials had been directed to maintain adequate supplies of medicines and laboratory chemical reagents while keeping close track of available stocks.

Under the new directives, hospitals must provide doctors working in outpatient departments (OPDs) with updated inventories of medicines in stock. This will enable medical practitioners to check the availability of drugs and prescribe medicines that patients can obtain from the respective hospitals. The Minister also emphasised that doctors must mention the generic names of medicines on prescriptions, reports The Hindu. 

The circular further directs hospitals to submit details of laboratory reagent stocks and projected requirements every fortnight. The regular reporting system is intended to help authorities identify potential shortages in advance and arrange supplies before they affect services.

Additionally, the directive also allows hospitals to procure materials required for laboratory investigations through Hospital Development Committee funds when the necessary items are unavailable. The measures aim to strengthen stock management and prevent interruptions in patient treatment at government healthcare facilities.

The state health department has been adopting several steps to improve healthcare services. A few days ago, the minister mentioned the inauguration of 16 public health centres and one urban health centre in Thiruvananthapuram district. The state has also started the ‘Hridhayaragam’ project to detect and prevent diseases in the early stages, which is also being implemented through the People's Health Centres. 

In Punalur, the 24×7 Hope Centre project was initiated by the Health Department with the aim of reducing the congestion in medical colleges and providing expert treatment to the people in emergency situations at government hospitals near their homes.

When the performance of the project was implemented at Punalur Taluk Hospital on a trial basis, the results were achieved by evaluating based on statistics and a 30 percent decrease was recorded in referral cases from Punalur. Along with that, the number of deliveries in the hospital also increased.

By making major speciality services like medicine, general surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, and gynaecology available 24 hours a day, patients are able to get timely treatment, the minister informed.