Farrugia – Misuse of medicines needs to be addressed

The minister for health, Godfrey Farrugia said that there was need for a more corporate form of governance which made use of medicines in an effective way and excelled in its use of technology.

He said that statistics show that whilst in 2010, 16% of the population was over the age of 65, it is expected that this number will rise to 20% by 2016.

"We need to be prepared for this inescapable scenario," he said, adding that higher consume of medicines, clogging-up of waiting-lists and lack of bed-space in hospitals could all prove to be consequences of an aging population.

In order to prepare for this, he said that the government needed to implement a national health strategy which listened to all the stake-holders involved, whether from the private and public sectors, which he described as 'equally important'.

He said that the plan needed to be holistic, personalized towards the patient and continuous, adding that the contribution of NGOs and worker unions was vital.

Farrugia, in a dig at the previous administration, said that when he became minister in March of this year, he found that poor corporate governance, a lack of inventory systems, and lack of financial planning all contributed towards a scenario in which there was no interconnectivity between the relevant parties in the field and most workers lacked motivation.

He said that government, with its new budgetary measures, was showing that it was determined to address such issues.

"We are intent on finding cost-effective measures and using the invaluable benefit of human potential to improve the sector," he said, explaining that any measures needed to be long-term and not simply a budget-to-budget process.

The minister said that there were always going to be shortages of some medicines - and competition for pharmaceuticals with other countries will always exist - but the sector needed to find 'smart and innovative' ways to counter this problem.

"We need immediate and permanent solutions," he said.

"No medicine should ever be out of stock," he added.

Farrugia said that the general health of people was a concern for all ministries within the government, as it understood that healthy persons were physically, mentally and socially able to produce, which in turn would lead to further prosperity for the country.

Farrugia, was addressing a press conference at the soon-to-be new pharmaceutical warehouse in San Gwann - measuring 4,000 square metres in dimensions - in an attempt to centralize the storing of medicines. He said that the warehouse should be ready by the end of the year.

Farrugia also stressed that government was intent on doing away with the one-size-fits-all approach which has previously been the standard approach.

"Why should one patient have to wait the same amount of time for one medicine that another patient is waiting for his, if his need for medicinal care is much more urgent?' he said, adding that patients were suffering enough, without the added frustration of such bureaucratic mismanagement.

Farrugia produced a White Paper entitled 'Ensuring your right to entitlement medicines at the time you require them'.

The White Paper focused on the reform of medicine management in order to avoid the misuse, excess storing or unnecessary waste of good medicines.

Government, he said, will also be launching a drug information hotline with guidelines in order to reduce the risk of adverse drugs.

Farrugia also emphasised the importance of streamlining a new ICT community between the various entities involved including government, pharmacies, patients and their doctors so that

He said that such streamlining would prove to be time-efficient, whilst reducing the number of errors. It will also make people more accountable - something which he said seemed to be lacking in previous years.

"We are committed to the challenges that lie ahead and we are confident that we will arrive at a scenario, in which patients are better off," he said.