KOLKATA: Hospitals neglect AIDS drug scheme

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Hospitals neglect AIDS drug scheme

14 Jan 2009, 0625 hrs IST, Debamoy Ghosh, TNN

KOLKATA: On December 1 last year, the West Bengal State AIDS

Prevention and Control Society had announced that costly AIDS

medicines would be

distributed free from all the five state-run hospitals in the city.

However, even after around one and half months, most hospitals have

not set up the infrastructure required to store the medicines. The

few that have, have merely forwarded demands for the medicine supply.

There are mainly two kinds of medicines for AIDS or HIV treatment.

One kind of medicine costs less, while the other is a high-cost

medicine that can only be stored in retro-viral units. These costly

medicines are used to increase the immunity of AIDS or HIV patients

and the price starts from Rs 200 per tablet.

NACO has assured the state government that they will supply these

medicines to all the state-run hospitals. But the work is yet to

begin because the hospitals apparently seem in no hurry to act.

" Only a retro-viral unit can store such medicines which cannot be

sold from any ordinary medical store. All the government-run

hospitals have been instructed to set up a retro-viral unit inside

their complexes, " said a society official.

Society joint director D N Goswami said even those hospitals that

have the infrastructure in place are yet to send their demands.

" Though we had plans to introduce the system from December 2, most

hospital authorities are yet to set up the required infrastructure.

Only the school of tropical medicine has this unit in the city. On

the other hand, what is startling is that even those that have the

required infrastructure, like the Burdwan and North Bengal Medical

Colleges, haven't yet sent us a list of the medicines they require, "

said Goswami.

RG Kar Hospital superintendent Krisnangshu Roy said they are in

process of setting up the retro-viral unit so that the free medicines

could be distributed.

" We needed time to set up the infrastructure first. The logistics of

setting up the unit is on and it will be set up within the next 15-

days, " Roy said.

Calcutta Medical College and Hospital superintendent Anup Roy

admitted they are yet to set up the retro-viral unit. All hospital

authorities concerned will hold a meeting with the society on

Wednesday to sort out the issue.

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