Shortage of drugs at Region Five dental clinic

Several persons who turned up for dental treatment at clinics in Region Five over the past three weeks have been turned away due to a shortage of drugs.

Persons told Stabroek News that when they visited the clinics including at the Mahaicony and Fort Wellington Hospitals they were told that “government didn’t provide drugs and instruments for them to work with.”

A young mother said she had to do an extraction but waited until the holiday started so she could take her children as well. To her disappointment when she got to one of the clinics, the staff told her that the clinic “shut down…” She said a few other people who were also turned away, “started to quarrel.” The staff told them that it was not their fault and advised them not to go to other clinics because “they would only waste transportation cost.”

Meanwhile, this newspaper was also told that the “oxygen equipment at a hospital is broken and was not being fixed.”

Contacted, a regional official told this newspaper that a meeting was held with the dental staff and that the matter would be resolved very soon.