Saline shortage prevails in private hospitals, pharmacies

When Ayesha Begum, 60, a resident of Malibagh, was admitted to Holy Family Hospital in the capital on Monday with high fever, doctors prescribed her saline along with some other medicines.

Dengue-infected patients receive treatment at Mugda Medical College and Hospital in the capital recently. Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

Her relatives were bewildered when they did not find the prescribed saline in the pharmacy at the hospital and in the surrounding areas. Finally, her son managed to buy only four saline bags after visiting a number of pharmacies in Shahbagh.

Both the government and private healthcare facilities in the country have suffered from a severe saline shortage for several months. The situation has become normal in the public hospitals, but the crisis prevails in the private clinics and pharmacies.

Many pharmacies currently cannot supply any saline to the customers, while the others that have the medicine are overcharging patients two-three times higher than the actual price, said sources.

Experts have called for market monitoring to alleviate the crisis. However, the Directorate General of Drug Administration has said the crisis will end this week as consignments of imported saline are supposed to arrive soon.

Dr MH Lelin Choudhury, chairman of Health and Hope Hospital, told TBS, "The saline shortage has become severe. If we order 100 bags of saline from a company, we get only 10-20 bags.

"Earlier we could send one man to fetch saline as needed from Mitford Market. Now three or four people have to be sent to different shops there in search of saline. The highest price of saline was Tk90-95, but currently we are buying it for Tk200 per bag."

"Since our pharmacy does not have saline, we give prescriptions to patients who bring them from different shops. Along with increasing the treatment cost, the crisis is also causing a lot of hassle for the patients and their families," he added.

Abdul Fajal, an employee of Medicare Pharmacy in Eskaton, told TBS, "We get 20 bags of saline two days a week, but the demand is way higher than that. Every day we have to turn away many patients – suffering from dengue as well as other diseases – due to the shortage."

When a customer yesterday called the online shop of Lazz Pharma – one of the biggest drugstore chains in the country – to order a saline bag, they told her that it was out of stock, but some of their physical outlets might have it.

Doctors said saline is used for treating various cases including dengue, seizures, surgery, and dialysis. The demand for saline soared following the dengue outbreak this year, leading to a shortage of the medicine, which also disrupted the treatment of other diseases.

"Patients need saline for fluid management after surgery. Dengue treatment also requires fluid management. Surgery patients are suffering due to saline shortage. This crisis is mainly in private hospitals," Dr Rajib Dey Sarker, general surgery specialist at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, told TBS.

Experts for market monitoring to break syndicate

Healthcare experts and pharmaceutical company officials have called for monitoring the market to ensure the supply of saline and to break the syndicate that has been creating an artificial crisis to raise its price.

"The price of a saline bag is Tk80-90, but patients are forced to buy it for Tk500. Pharmacy owners are hiking the price by creating an artificial crisis. Just as traders have syndicated the prices of eggs, chillies, and coconuts, they have also increased the price of saline," said Dr Rajib Dey Sarker.

Khairul Basher, assistant vice president of Orion Infusion Ltd, told TBS, "We produced saline in three shifts for 30 days in August this year. We have supplied over 3 lakh bags of saline to government hospitals through the Essential Drugs Company. There are not so many dengue patients in the hospital. So where is the saline going?"

Mentioning that they are regularly supplying saline bags to around 300 pharmacies and to private hospitals, he said, "It is important to monitor the market. We suspect that intermediaries are creating an artificial crisis."

A mobile court has fined traders Tk1.2 lakh during a drive in the areas surrounding Chattogram Medical College.

"Local pharmaceutical companies are producing saline in three shifts, while the government has allowed its import. The saline crisis will end soon after the consignments of imported saline arrive within a couple of days," Nurul Alam, deputy director of Directorate General of Drug Administration, told TBS.