Western Cape seeks urgent national intervention over medicine shortages - TimesLIVE

The Western Cape government has called for urgent national intervention to address persistent public sector medicine shortages, warning that supply constraints are pressuring healthcare services and patients who rely on essential and chronic medication.

Health and wellness MEC Mireille Wenger first raised concerns about medicine stock-outs on June 2, ahead of the National Health Council (NHC) meeting on June 11, where the issue was tabled for discussion.

More than four months later, shortages persist. In September, Wenger wrote to health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi requesting urgent action and clear timelines to stabilise medicine supplies.

She has now approached transport minister Barbara Creecy for assistance in identifying and resolving potential logistical bottlenecks at South African ports that could be contributing to delays in getting imported medicines to public healthcare facilities.

In a letter to Creecy, Wenger requested that the processing and movement of imported medicines be prioritised, particularly at the Port of Durban, where concerns have been raised about possible delays.

“This is about protecting the health, wellbeing and dignity of patients who depend on these medicines. Every unnecessary delay in getting medicines into the country is another delay in getting them to the patients who need them,” Wenger said.

“With our healthcare facilities already experiencing significant medicine supply constraints, we cannot afford additional delays where they can be avoided.”

The precise nature and extent of the port-related delays have not yet been established. The provincial department is seeking urgent co-ordination between the authorities, terminal operators and other stakeholders to identify and address potential obstacles.

Wenger said the shortages reflect a combination of pressures across the pharmaceutical supply chain, including manufacturing constraints, international shipping disruptions, supplier backorders, procurement challenges, regulatory delays and delays in the testing and release of some medicines.

She said once imported medicines arrive in South Africa, they must undergo quality testing before they can be distributed to healthcare facilities. This process can take between three and four weeks, making timely port clearance and the movement of consignments particularly important.

“Patient safety must always come first, and the necessary testing processes cannot be compromised. However, when medicines still need to undergo several weeks of testing after arriving in the country, eliminating avoidable delays becomes even more important,” Wenger said.

“Every day we can save in the supply chain is a day gained in getting essential medicines to our patients.”

Wenger said healthcare teams were working to manage inconsistent medicine availability by sourcing alternatives and redistributing available stock, but warned that these measures were becoming increasingly difficult as shortages persisted.

“Medicine supply constraints are a country-wide challenge and require a co-ordinated national response. Our patients deserve access to the medications they need, and it is our responsibility to find and implement solutions to unblock and mitigate these challenges,” she said.

She also called for co-ordinated monitoring of medicine availability across provinces to improve early identification of shortages, strengthen planning and facilitate the redistribution of available stock where appropriate.

Such monitoring, she said, would give national and provincial health departments a clearer picture of supply pressures and help ensure that interventions were co-ordinated across the country.

The Western Cape department of health and wellness said it was monitoring stock levels and supplier performance weekly at the Cape Medical Depot and reporting the information to national government. Other measures include redistributing medicines between facilities, sourcing alternatives and supporting temporary imports where necessary.

“When a prescribed medicine is unavailable, pharmacists and clinicians work together to identify clinically appropriate alternatives, which may include a different strength, pack size, formulation or therapeutic substitute. Where supplies are limited, stock may be shared equitably or dispensed in smaller quantities while replenishment is secured,” she said.

The department urged patients to continue collecting their medication and to speak to a healthcare professional if their usual medicine was unavailable, their treatment changed, or their medication looked different.

Patients were also advised not to change their dosage or stop taking prescribed medication without first consulting a healthcare professional.

The national department of health said it is aware of the medicine stockout problem and is preparing a comprehensive statement to unpack it.