PN: List of out-of-stock medicines is getting longer

The Nationalist Party has said the list of out-of-stock medicines is getting longer.

“This is resulting in adverse effects on the quality of life of patients, their families and medical professionals,” the party said.

The PN said the stock of insulin has not be regular and in line with patients’ needs across Maltese and Gozitan localities.

“This shortcoming is contributing towards an increase in anxiety among persons who suffer from diabetes and their families, especially given the fact that the problem has been felt for the past month,” it said.

The party said that diabetic persons are feeling that “Robert Abela’s government” is ignoring them, having “not kept his word” on the wider roll out of Constant Glucose Monitors. It also said Abela is refusing to form the Parliamentary Committee on Diabetes.

The PN also said the out-of-stock medicine list is growing at “alarming rates”, with medical professionals complaining on the issue.

The list of out-of-stock medicines include: Novorapid (insulin for diabetics), Latanoprost (medicine to treat high pressure inside the eye), Galvus (used to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus), Goserelin Injection (a type of hormone therapy used to treat breast cancer in premenopausal women), Creon (for a number of conditions associated with the stomach) and a number of antibiotics.

The PN also said government has not published the official list of out-of-stock medicines for the past two months, with the party saying it is concerned that government istrying to hide the problem.

“The last published list showed there were already 25 out-of-stock medicines, which did not include the above medicines,” it said. “The Nationalist Party calls for more transparency and efficiency in the purchase and distribution of medicines in our country.”