The medical community and patients will get a slight reprieve from the ongoing shortage of anaesthetics medication, with the Treasury releasing Rs. 1.3 billion to clear a stock of medication sent by donors, which had been held up for days at the Colombo Port.
According to a senior anesthesiologist, Sri Lanka’s stocks of anaesthetics have dwindled to a state where the remaining stocks will run out in two to three weeks.
A stock of anaesthetics sent to Sri Lanka by various donors, along with 37 other vital medicines which are also in short supply, has been languishing at the Colombo Port for days, it is learnt.
However, according to Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella, the Treasury has cleared Rs. 1.3 billion for the goods and the stocks will be released by Tuesday evening (14).
“The stock also includes 37 of the 157 medicines which are in short supply,” he added.