In order to overcome the drug shortage crisis in the ISM hospitals in Tamil Nadu, the stakeholders including manufacturers, doctors and chronic Siddha patients have demanded to the state government to bring the drug procurement system of ISM hospitals under Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) which has successfully been supplying medicines to allopathic hospitals in the state.

Presently, the government Siddha medical colleges, district hospitals, taluk hospitals and primary health centres are procuring drugs through different channels as there is no centralized drug procurement agency in the state to coordinate the supply of medicines in these health centres and monitor the situation, it is learnt.

According to information, medicines for the two government Siddha medical colleges working at Anna Nagar in Chennai and at Palayamkottai in Thirunelveli district are manufactured in their in-house manufacturing facilities and are not outsourcing any medicine from outside. But these facilities in the colleges are now unable to produce all the varieties of medicines required for referral hospitals, a senior Siddha doctor said.

The major flaw is lack of technically skilled staff in the pharmacies attached with the manufacturing facilities in the medical colleges. Most of the technical staff have retired from services and the vacancies are lying vacant without further appointment. The situation adversely affects not only the production of major conventional drugs, but the total healthcare management system of the hospitals as well. These two medical colleges have no provision to buy medicines from outside agencies.

As per the available drug list, the medical college pharmacies should have at least 250 varieties of drugs, but often they have a maximum number of 60 to 70 varieties, said the doctor.

Whereas, medicines for district, taluk and primary health centres are supplied by Tamil Nadu Medical Plant Farms & Herbal Medicine Corporation Limited (TAMPCOL). The drugs which are not available with TAMPCOL can be procured from private companies on submission of non-availability certificate issued by it, and the companies supplying the drugs, should have a turnover of Rs.5 crore or above. According to industry sources, there are only two Siddha manufacturing companies in Tamil Nadu which have over five crore turnover. Though the Indian Medical Practitioners Co-operative Pharmacy and Stores Limited (IMPCOPS) is a major manufacturing unit in the cooperative sector, it will not supply all the drugs to the state government hospitals because the Society will not compromise in prices, sources said.

In the case of NRHM centres attached to the PHCs, they can buy medicines either from TAMPCOL or from IMPCOPS. But state hospitals including the PHCs are unable to buy from IMPCOPS because of price variation. TAMPCOL is not able to supply the total requirement of ayurvedic products and herbo-minerals (Rasoushadhi) to a few number of ayurvedic health centres also.

Considering the situation, the stakeholders like manufacturers, doctors and patients opine that the supply of medicines to Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani hospitals should also be brought under the control of Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation to survive the crisis of drug shortages. In all the allopathic hospitals, the medicines are supplied by TNMSC, which has depots in all the districts. If TNMSC undertakes the supply of medicines to the ISM hospitals too, the problem of medicine shortage can be solved. Or else, the government should allow the two medical college hospitals and state hospitals to buy medicines from outside agencies, said a doctor –cum-manufacturer.