The current drug shortage in the country will continue in 2026, says Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, President of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance.
Although the Health Ministers and the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation have stated that the drug shortage will be resolved before the end of next year, there is already a shortage of nearly a hundred essential and non-essential drugs in major hospitals across the island, including many types of items used for surgical procedures, he points out.
This drug shortage did not occur all at once, but has been growing for almost a year, he says, and it is clearly a political and administrative weakness. He says that this crisis has existed since the time of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and that senior officials of the Ministry of Health are directly responsible for it.
He also points out that patient care services are currently hampered due to the shortage of medicines and surgical items such as IV Noradrenaline, IV cefotaxime, iv amicacine, clarithomycine, levofloxacillin, inj adenosine, sodium nitroprusside, inj verapamil, isoprenaline, protamine sulphate, inj promethazine as well as GTN, salbutamol oral solution, prolene, polypropylene, nylon, knee implants used for suturing wounds.