LARKANA, Sept 15: A strategy will soon be put in place to make it mandatory for officials in charge of taluka headquarters hospitals, basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs) in Sindh to give the initial dose of anti-snake venom to snakebite victims before sending them to the tertiary-care hospital (Chandka Medical College Hospital in Larkana).

The aim was to save the life of the victim and also save one dose which could be administered to another patient, said Medical Superintendent of CMCH Dr Ashfaque Memon while talking to Dawn.

The issue of shortage of ASV at the CMCH came up when the hospital management and the district health officer of Larkana pointed towards non-supply of anti-snake drug by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, for a year.

The MS contacted Director-General of Health Services in Sindh Dr Feroz Memon a couple of days ago and discussed the issue with him.

“We face awkward situation when snakebite cases are referred to the hospital from far-flung areas without injecting the first dose of ASV. It puts the patient’s life at risk,” said Dr Memon.

“So, to help minimise the risk and increase the chances of recovery of victims, we have agreed to devise a mechanism for administering the first dose at taluka headquarters hospitals, RHCs and BHUs prior to shifting them to the tertiary-care hospital,” the MS said.

This would be a test case for health personnel working at periphery hospitals, the MS said, adding: “We could have better prognosis of the patient this way”.

The DG agreed to provide 25 vials of ASV to the CMCH.

In the first week of September, in a letter to the health secretary of Sindh, the MS pointed towards the non-supply of ASV from NIH, Islamabad.

He said acute shortage of the drug had created a lot of problems for the largest teaching hospital of upper Sindh. A private firm, which supplied ASV to the CMCH, had also complained about its shortage in the open market, he said.

He said that in August, 147 vials for the initial dose had been consumed at the accident and emergency centre of the hospital in treating 59 cases referred from Mehar, Dadu, Gambat, Khairpur, Moro, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Nasirabad (Balochistan) and Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

He has requested the health secretary of Sindh to approach the NIH in Islamabad to ensure regular supply of the injection of ASV to the hospital.