THERE is adequate supply of medicines at all government health facilities, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

“So far, there is no disruption. Supply of medicines is always sufficient. We will continue to monitor to ensure the stock at our facilities remains adequate,” he told reporters after launching World Food Safety Day today.

Previously, it was reported there was a shortage of supplies of medicines and raw materials for pharmaceutical products due to high demand post-Covid and resumption of economic activities.

Khairy, however, said the situation was reported to have occurred in private health facilities, including pharmacies.

The minister said among feedback received by the ministry during an engagement session with pharmaceutical industry players last Friday, were shortages in medication for diarrhoea, fever, cold, flu, cough, antibiotics and vitamins, especially vitamin C.

Khairy said he had instructed the pharmaceutical services division to work with pharmaceutical associations in the country, including drug manufacturers, to look for alternative sources of medical supply to tackle the shortage issue.

He had also asked the ministry’s secretary-general Harjeet Singh to prepare medium- and long-term plans and strategies in preparation to face a shortage in medicine supply in the MOH’s health facilities.

In a separate development, Khairy urged hospital directors and heads of departments to report immediately if there was any shortage of manpower or vacancies at their respective facilities to prevent additional workload being placed on medical officers.

“I would not be satisfied if there is a complaint about the situation,” he said, commenting on a complaint by a medical officer who claimed his wife had to undertake on-call duty daily for three months as her colleague had gone on maternity leave.

Khairy said the ministry was waiting for a report from a special task force that investigated allegations of a bullying culture in government hospitals to find solutions regarding work schedules, work ethic and on-call allowances.

Khairy also urged all MOH medical officers to respond to the survey forms emailed to them.

“The survey is important because there are in-depth questions about the working environment in the MOH,” he said, adding that so far, 40,000 MOH medical officers have completed the survey form.

He targets 60,000 officers to participate in the survey, so as to ensure the task force is furnished with accurate and comprehensive information. – Bernama, June 7, 2022.