• Says free healthcare ‘merely in name’ not enough
• 25,000 units of filgrastim have arrived: NMRA 
• MSD points to delays, procedural shortcomings

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on Friday (25) criticised the handling of recent shortages of cancer medicines in the State health sector, warning that having free healthcare “merely in name” was insufficient if patients could not obtain essential treatment when required.

Speaking at a media briefing, GMOA Executive Committee Member Dr. Prasad Colombage said the association viewed the shortages with serious concern and called on the Ministry of Health and the Government to work closely with medical professionals to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

“Through free healthcare, patients should be able to receive necessary treatments in required quantities, within appropriate timeframes, and with high service quality,” Dr. Colombage said.

He said that procurement-related problems or other shortcomings had resulted in certain medicines not reaching the health system as required, creating shortages that affected patients.

“What we observe here – whether due to procurement issues or other oversights – is that there was a trend where these medications were not received, leading to shortages of certain medicines,” he said.

Dr. Colombage stressed that the existence of a free healthcare system alone was insufficient unless patients were able to access the medicines and treatment they required without interruption.

Meanwhile, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) told The Sunday Morning that there had been a shortage of filgrastim, a medicine used to support certain cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, but said that fresh stocks were now available.

NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said that approximately 25,000 units of filgrastim had arrived in the country and had already been cleared through Customs.

“Around 25,000 units have already arrived and were cleared through Customs,” Dr. Wijewickrama said, adding that further consignments were expected to arrive.

However, Medical Supplies Division (MSD) Director General Dr. Sampath Ranaweera offered a different explanation for the disruptions, maintaining that the problem was not simply one of stocks being completely unavailable.

According to Dr. Ranaweera, delays and shortcomings in the requisition and procurement process have contributed to interruptions in supplies.

“The issue is that it is not actually a stock shortage, but rather the concept of not doing the necessary requisition and publicity properly,” he said.

Dr. Ranaweera said that the MSD had authorised local purchases where possible to maintain supplies and was also exploring alternative avenues, including donations, to bridge gaps.

He added that several companies that had been approached were now supplying medicines, with quantities arriving periodically. However, he was unable to provide exact quantities expected to be supplied over the coming weeks.

The GMOA has urged health authorities to address the underlying procurement and supply chain shortcomings to ensure that cancer patients do not face further interruptions to essential treatment.