The government provides essential medicines to health posts across the country, after declaring free primary healthcare to all two years ago.[break]
Under the scheme, the MoH provides 35 different medicines to KMC meant for 21 health posts in Kathmandu.
But 15 medicine varieties have not been used at all as they do not fit the needs of health posts.
Among the unused medicine is normal saline that has no use at health posts. The oxytocine injection that is used during childbirth is also useless at urban health posts where pregnant women invariably go to hospitals for deliveries. "We do not deal with delivery and therefore no center takes such medicine," said Dr Baburam Gautam, chief of the health department at KMC.
Similarly, ampicillin, an injection administered to children from pneumonia, also remains unused at the KMC store, "Such injections are administered at hospitals," said Jagat Nepali, chief of Alapot Health Post at Alapot VDC.
At the KMC store is another medicine pheniarmine maleate, which is used for psychiatric patients.
Also dumped at the store is Salmol, Gention violet, Gmicine and Amoxicillin 250 mg.
"The Gention violet is in powder form, though we need the liquid variety," said Laxmi Poudel, nursing staff at KMC.
Amoxicillin 250 mg is an antibiotic given to children. Poudel said parents do not take children to health posts when their children are sick, so the medicine is useless at health posts.
Some injections like: Ampheciline, Oxytocin, Pheniarmine Maleate and Atropine have remained unused at KMC store from the beginning and most of them have crossed the expiry date.
Meanwhile, the government has resumed dispatching medicine that has dreadful side effects. Four month ago, the MoH sent Chloramphenicol, a medicine given to the typhoid patients, to the Alapot Health Post.
Chloramphenicol use may induce a condition called blood dyscrasias, which means the bone marrow starts producing abnormal blood and stop producing normal blood cells. Nausea, diarrhea, and appetite loss are relatively common side effects of this medication.
"We do not use that medicine, and are not told to whom it should be given," the health post´s chief said.
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