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Shortages of medicine at GMH
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Posted on Jan 16 2005
The Guam Medical Hospital Pharmacy faces dangerous shortages of critical antibiotics this weekend, less than 48 hours after GMH pharmacy staff had reported that no imminent shortages of medicines were being anticipated.
Today, the island’s only hospital has again run out of ampicillin-sulbactam, an antibiotic used to fight life-threatening skin and gastrointestinal infections.
Delinquent vendor payments and sloppy procurement administration are likely excuses for yet another medication shortage, which has unexpectedly compromised patient care at Guam’s hospital. The root cause is the failure of GovGuam leadership to eliminate non-critical personnel expenses at the hospital.
While GMH has suffered shortages of atropine, epinephrine, ciprofloxicin, azithromycin, and Rocephin, GMH administration has stubbornly made payroll payments to the more than 150 GMH employees who do not provide critical patient care services.
The GMH Medical Staff Committee in charge of pharmacy oversight has attempted to secure an audience with Gov. Felix Camacho regarding this serious issue but his assistant Shawn Gumataotao has thus far failed to set a meeting.
GMH physicians this weekend are yet again forced to make adjustments to patient care in order to accommodate for the deficiencies of a broken hospital system.
Within the next 14 days, Guam Medical Society executive members are planning meetings with GMH officials and Federal legal counsel in order to seek definitive solutions.
Vincent Akimoto
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