The 12 breast cancer patients and the Barbadian population in general may be breathing a sigh of relief now that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has acquired the needed chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel to continue their treatment.
Chemotherapy retards cancer cell growth, eventually killing them, so treatment with cancer-fighting drugs must be consistent to ensure the maximum possibility of success. Disrupting this schedule therefore impairs the effectiveness of the medication.
Therefore, whatever happened to cause the delay in patients getting these drugs as scheduled – which they pay for – is disgraceful. In such life and death matters this should never happen.
That said, no Barbadian can today be comfortable with the explanations given in this unfortunate incident.
Indeed, an analysis of what has been said suggests something has gone terribly wrong in the ordering, acquisition and distribution of Paclitaxel. And it raises the question, is this the case with any other drugs?
The scenario being played out is that the QEH is blaming the Barbados Drug Service (BDS) for this shameful lapse, while officials of the latter have remained silent. However, the information and timeline given by one of the drug’s suppliers, Collins Limited, suggest the problem lies with the QEH.
In an advertisement published in yesterday’s WEEKEND NATION, Collins claims that it had in hand, from April 1, the supply of 30mg Paclitaxel injections, all of which the QEH purchased four days later. Collins said the supply was originally obtained on the company’s own initiative, based on the previous year’s orders from the hospital.
“We opened the year [April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012,] with the equivalent of eight months’ stock on hand. On April 5, which was five days into the contract, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital purchased all eight months’ stock at one time.”
Collins said that immediately after the hospital’s purchase, it placed an urgent order to its regular manufacturer.
“At the end of April,” the distributor said, “the Barbados Drug Service enquired from us if there was a possibility that we could get supplies from an alternative manufacturer since our new order had not yet arrived, and the manufacturer . . . from whom we had ordered could not supply urgently.
“We advised them we could do so, but the price from our other source was higher, and we gave them the price. They said the price was too high and therefore we should not order this.”
Collins said it also telephoned the QEH Dispensary, notifying it about the alternative manufacturer and the price. “We were again advised not to get any at that high price.”
Collins said the public would “ultimately make their own judgement of the facts”.
What needs to be made clear is:
• What happened to the eight months’ supply of Paclitaxel reportedly bought from Collins Limited only last month by the QEH?
• Was there some sudden upsurge in the use of these drugs or a change in pattern of their use that caused that eight months’ supply to disappear in just a few weeks?
• Is the QEH giving the BDS adequate notification of when such drug supplies need to be ordered, or is the BDS even being informed?
• Is this whole episode due to the quest to source less expensive drugs, and what implications does this have for the treatment of cancer patients and their survival?
We welcome the investigation into this matter that has been ordered by Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner, but we also suggest the Auditor General be called in to undertake a special audit to ensure total transparency in this life-threatening situation.
The public needs answers now!