ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has started postponing heart surgeries because of unavailability of three important injections.

Executive Director Pims Dr Raja Amjad said that Pims was not alone to suffer the shortage, other hospitals were facing a similar situation because the injections had vanished from the market.

He said injection Adrenaline is used to maintain heartbeat and blood pressure, Atropine is used to increase the heartbeat because sometimes heartbeat slows during operations and injection Dormicum is used to make patient unconscious.

Executive Director Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology retired Maj General Dr Azhar Kayani said when he came to know about possible shortage of three injections a month ago he not only stored the medicines but wrote a letter to the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) inviting its attention towards the situation.

Spokesperson Ministry of NHS Sajid Shah said it happened because the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) did not allow the manufacturing companies to increase prices of the medicines.

However, he said that Drap would ensure that the manufacturing of injections was started at the earliest.

A senior doctor of Pims, requesting not to be quoted, said so far four patients’ heart surgeries had been postponed.

“It is unfortunate that essential life-saving drugs are not available in hospital because of shortage in market.

“Patients are also suffering in the coronary care unit (CCU). Management should raise the issue with Drap and the ministry concerned so that the problem could be solved,” he said.

Executive Director Pims Dr Raja Amjad said that unfortunately the medicines were not available in the market.

“As per my information companies have been demanding increase in prices,” he said.

Retired Maj General Dr Kayani said: “I fear that in coming days medicines will completely disappear from the market.”

He said that it was the responsibility of the ministry concerned to ensure availability of essential and life saving medicines.

Spokesperson Ministry of NHS Sajid Shah said that in the past whenever Drap tried to rationalise the prices a campaign was started against the move.

“Companies cannot continue facing loss so they prefer to stop manufacturing. One should understand that no businessman wants to close his business. Drap has a mechanism to increase price in such cases but it hesitates because of media and political pressure,” he said.

However, he said that the ministry has already started working on it and soon injections would be made available in the market.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2018