MARGAO: The patients and administration of South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) facing acute shortage of Fabiflu tablets—a primary medicine for mild to moderate COVID-19 disease in adults under restricted emergency—for the last many days and if it’s not resolved soon it would apparently put life of nearly 500-odd COVID patients of the hospital at risk.
Many patients are requested to buy the above tablets from private medical stores, as said by relatives of the patients on request and it is causing a hole in the latter’s pocket as pharmacies are charging nearly Rs. 1,300 per strip of the Fabiflu.
When contacted, Dr. Rajesh Patel, Nodal Officer of SGDH, admitted that there is a shortage of Fabiflu tablets in the district hospital. He further divulged that the requirement of the tablets for 500-odd COVID patients is nearly 1,500 and what the hospital received is only seven to eight hundred per day.
“Yes, there is a shortage of Fabiflu tablets for the last many days. Fabiflu tablet is one of the vital medicines of COVID patients. And the dose of this tablet to the patients cannot be missed”, he said. Each patient needs nearly 30 Fabiflu tablets for five to six days.
The shortfall has been already brought to the notice of the government authorities, but despite that, the issue is yet to be resolved.
“Earlier they had a stock of nearly 20,000 Fabiflu tablets but at the moment hospital is out of stock. Two days before they had asked for five thousand tablets but the hospital received the supply of only two thousand. And hence with no other option left we have to ask the patients relatives to buy it from the private medical stores”, said Dr. Rajesh.
The supply of the tablet comes from the medical store of GMC.
When Herald visited one of the medical stores at Margao to find the rate, they said the cost per strip is Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,300. But it has been noticed that few medical stores are charging more to patients.
