Tablets shortage

On May 14, I went to the outpatients pharmacy at St Luke's Hospital with my yellow card, my doctor's prescription and the permit from the drugs and therapeutics committee for Losartan (Cozaar) tablets, which had been prescribed by the hospital, together with Atenolol tablets, as treatment for high blood pressure.

At the pharmacy, I was handed the Atenolol but was told that they had run out of Losartan, gave me a printed form and told me to phone the number on the form to find out if their supply of tablets had been delivered.

Two weeks later, and the pills are still out of stock. The pharmacists could not say when they will receive delivery, and told me to try again.

I find this situation alarming. How can a hospital - Malta's main hospital at that - run out of medicine and why does it take two weeks (and over) to ensure that patients get the medicine they have been prescribed and are entitled to?

I am lucky in as much as I can afford to buy them, but what of the pensioners and unemployed, or those on low wages, who might not be able to pay Lm14 for a month's supply? Can they do without their medicine, or do they beg and borrow in order to get the pills they need?