How UBTH is Eliminating ‘Out-of-Stock’ Syndrome in Nigeria’s Healthcare Delivery

Rebecca Ejifoma

The Head of Pharmacy, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH), Dr. Caroline Olumese, has urged hospitals across the country to adopt its innovative method of eliminating Out-of-Stock (OS) syndrome within the shortest possible time.

The pharmacist said the OS syndrome, which is a common problem of non availability of drugs in Nigerian hospitals, is no longer an acceptable standard in modern health care delivery system.

Giving these hints while addressing journalists during a tour of the hospital, part of her suggestions was that patients should not take for granted that they would always be suplied medicines and other items required to manage ailments whenever they visit the hospital.

“We should never tell patients there are no drugs,” she said while emphasising that since the inception of the current management, they developed a policy of 100 per cent availability of drugs.

She noted: “Management came up with this policy of ‘100 per cent Availability of Drugs’, even up to soap for people with skin problem. If there is nothing, the onus lies on me, as the chief pharmacist, to bring out the money and buy. This is called 100 per cent availability policy by our amiable CMD.”

Olumese further added that it is no longer permitted for staff to instruct patients to source their drugs from anywhere else apart from the hospital pharmacy.

According to Olumese, the current management under the leadership of Prof. Darlington Obaseki introduced other innovative measures to ensure that the hospital never runs out of drugs or experience the ‘OS” syndrome again.

Meanwhile, UBTH has three major divisions in its pharmacy department: the patient services, the drugs, and the special projects which work together to ensure a continuous and regular supply of drugs to patients.

“We have good coordination. The most important thing is the availability of drugs. That is the mission and vision statement, to ensure we provide quality drugs to our patients.

“How we do it? Procurement comes in here. We have the tender’s process and we also have the direct purchase from the reliable companies. Then we have the emergency purchase for impress,” she listed.

At UBTH pharmacy department, it compounds and produces some of its medications.

“The drug in front of you is one of our products,” she displayed to journalists.

“There are some drugs you cannot get outside, they come in tablet form and the pediatrics need it. It is only we that can reformulate for the doctor’s use.”

In this current administration, UBTH boast of establishing its oncology pharmacy. The head pharmacist said, “We were able to get some companies to give us biosafety cabinet. One is more than N2 million and right now we have two.

“This has since helped the hospital reduce cost and encouraged patients to save money as we now reformulate instead of allowing wastage. There is a way we do it so that three cancer patients can use that same drug instead of buying one each.”

While setting the pace for other facilities to trail, Olumese disclosed that some teaching hospitals are already employing UBTH method.

She implored: “I urge others to follow suit so that the problem of ‘out of stock’ syndrome will be eliminated from Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system for good.”