Government hospitals in the State continue to face an acute shortage of basic drugs, including paracetamol, sterile disposable IV cannulas, normal saline, and even insulin syringes.
In fact, the Health Department has officially admitted that there is no supply of basic drugs and has written to all hospitals to procure 44 essential drugs locally for the next two months.
However, several hospitals, especially taluk hospitals and primary health centres (PHCs) are finding it hard to procure these drugs locally due to insufficient funds. As a result, prescriptions are written out for patients to buy from outside.
