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The Gemzar ran out. Dudov is on leave |
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 The Ministry of health has stopped the supply of the medicine Gemzar in the whole country. The unofficial information is that the quantities have been depleted.
We were alerted by M.P. form Sofia. He has a cancer of the pancreas. M.P. underwent an operation of the pancreas and afterwards also an operation for removal of a kidney due to metastasis. Consequently metastases are found in the liver. A means of choice and the only medicine that influences this type of cancer is Gemzar. The price of one dose is 292 leva. The prescribed course of treatment is 6 consequent doses. Due to the lack of supply of Gemzar the patient was forced to purchase the first four doses. With his consecutive request to the oncology dispensary clinic in Sofia he was answered that there is no Gemzar and there will not be at least till the end of 2009.
Our investigation found out that all negotiated quantities of the medicine for 2009 had been depleted. Up till this moment the ministry of health has not taken any actions to provide extra quantities. So thousands of patients with pancreas cancer, lung cancer and bladder cancer will face the dilemma either to pay over 1000 leva per course of treatment or die.
That is yet another case of carelessness and irresponsibility on the part of the ministry of health that is obliged by law and by Regulation 34 to provide free treatment to cancer patients. And if the minister of health has the excuse that he is new in this position and the problems to a large extent have been inherited from the previous government then there is no excuse for the national consultant for oncology and advisor to the minister on medicine policy associate professor Asen Dudov. The same has taken these positions for years and till this moment he has done nothing to improve the supply of medicines to patients with oncology diseases. Dudov plays a central role in determining the quantities, the holding of tenders and provision of supply of medicines under Regulation 34. All these activities are carried out in a non-transparent way and in lack of any clear rules and procedures. Meanwhile MH refuses any information regarding the problems of procurement including also by the order of the Law on the access to public information. Now that in the end of the year there is an acute shortage of not only Gemzar, but of Femara, too, Zometa and a number of other anti-cancer medicines, the national consultant Dudov is on paid leave and nobody at MH does not want to take any action in his absence.
We do not know till when the minister will put up with this outrage but in the end the whole responsibility will be placed on him.
The widely advertised Audit committee for control over the medicine policy, in which representatives of the patients' organizations were included, has not started work yet even though all normative conditions for that are in place. The chief secretary of MH, Ms Nikolova, who is also chairman of the Audit committee has not found time to summon it.
We realize that many of the problems are inherited from the previous Government but three months have passed since minister Nanev took the office and the time for excuses passed. It is high time that MH should take urgent measures to solve the problems because the excuses do not cure.
CZPZ appeals to all patients who have been refused medicines under Regulation 34 to send complaints to us and to the ministry of health. We are ready to provide assistance to all who want to bring lawsuits against the ministry of health for the suffered property and non-property damages. |
News 
петък, 03 септември 2010
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