NO DRUGS, PATIENTS BUY SALT FOR WOUNDS

PIGG’S PEAK – The next time your neighbour’s child knocks on your door to ask for salt, it may not necessarily be for seasoning food but for treatment.

 Apparently, some patients are buying salt to use for disinfecting wounds as there is no medication in most of the country’s public hospitals. This was revealed by some of the patients admitted for injuries at the Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital when interviewed yesterday. Though it is known to have a burning sensation, a salt and water solution is a common home remedy for cleaning wounds. Some of the nurses also corroborated what the patients asserted regarding the use of salt to clean their wounds.

The nurses yesterday briefly picketed over the lack of medication. They later returned to work to ensure that patients received the necessary services.  As nurses picketed yesterday, some of the patients said they only believed after being admitted to the hospital that the facilities did not have proper medication or drugs. They said under normal circumstances, wounds were cleaned using certain medication to prevent them from becoming septic. Being septic can cause severe illness and in extreme instances, even death.

A patient who asked not to be mentioned, said the hospital did not have elastic bandages normally used to cover wounds. She said they also did not have the ones that are used to dress wounds such that some wounds were left undressed. Also, a medical officer said the situation was worse, especially for patients who were diabetic. She said injuries and wounds were very risky for diabetic patients because they usually did not heal quickly. “This is why we need the medication urgently,” she revealed.

It was also revealed that some of the patients had to purchase medication from nearby pharmacies. A patient revealed how she spent about E150 at a pharmacy as the dispensary at the hospital did not have medication. The patient also complained about the lack of enough food. They said they were not being given proper food. For breakfast, they revealed that they only had one scoop of porridge. “This is like having medication on an empty stomach,” a patient said.

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