No surgery at SFGH until tomorrow

Surgical operations at the San Fernando General Hospital have been postponed because of a shortage of an essential drug. The drug, Anectine, is in critically short supply and the hospital’s operating-theatres are saving remaining ampoules of the anaesthetic drug for extreme emergency cases. Yesterday, several cases on the hospital’s elective surgery list had to be cancelled. Hospital medical director Dr Austin Trinidade summoned a meeting of doctors working in the Anaesthetics Department around 10 am yesterday, where the drug shortage problem was discussed. Asked to what extent the Anectine shortage had impacted on patients listed for surgery, Trinidade declined to speak to the media. He confirmed however that there was a shortage of Anectine and said the Ministry of Health had assured that a supply of the drug would be delivered to the hospital tomorrow.

Head of the hospital’s Depart-ment of Anaesthetics, Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, told Newsday, “yes, we are desperately short of Anectine. It is essential and we cannot do surgeries without it. But up to yesterday we had a few ampoules which we have reserved for extreme emergency cases.”
But Dr Chatoorgoon said the short supply of the drug had not yet impacted on the elective surgery list because there were other surgical procedures that could be utilised under general anaesthetics, which did not involve the use of Anectine. “I myself worked on the elective surgery list and despite the shortage, it has not impacted significantly at this point. “But yes, we are desperately short and Anectine is essential,” Chatoorgoon said.
Dr Trinidade said yesterday that the Health Ministry had been informed of the shortage of the drug. When contacted yesterday afternoon, South West Regional Health Authority’s communications manager, Zenobia Nanan, said she had not yet enquired about the problem. The hospital is currently plagued by a shortage of essential drugs. Despite receiving a supply of vital drugs on Tuesday, the hospital’s dispensary is still in short supply of drugs to treat anaemic patients as well as epileptic patients.