Lucknow: The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has been grappling with a shortage of Hepatitis C medications for the last three months. This scarcity has led many hopeful patients seeking free treatment to either abandon their visits or resort to purchasing medications from the open market, incurring costs between Rs 8,000 to 10,000.
Critical treatment for severe liver cirrhosis mandates two crucial drugs. Presently, KGMU caters to approximately 200 to 250 Hepatitis C patients under treatment, with a corresponding number of new patients enrolling each month.
KGMU procures these medications through the National Health Mission (NHM) initiative of the Central government. Regrettably, the current supply barely meets the demands of already registered patients.
Officials have clarified that the new medication stock, delayed in May, arrived in June but proved insufficient even for the existing patients. The same shortage recurred in July.
In response to this pressing issue, KGMU authorities have submitted a letter to the NHM, appealing for an augmentation in the drug inventory.
A standard treatment regimen for Hepatitis C at KGMU spans three months, making the timely arrival of medications crucial for initiating treatment in new patients.
The nodal officer for KGMU’s Hepatitis Control Campaign, Prof. Sumit Rungta, acknowledged that the existing medication supply falls short of meeting the requirements of both current and new Hepatitis C patients. “Hence, we are prioritizing medication distribution to registered patients to ensure uninterrupted treatment,” he added.
Tragically, this situation has left new patients disappointed and urgently in need of treatment.
Despite multiple attempts, Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, the nodal officer for the state Hepatitis Control Programme, has not responded.
