Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Minister of Health and Environment, Rudyard Spencer (left), listens keenly to Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Employers Federation, at the World and Safety Health Executive Forum and Corporate Wellness Launch at the Jamaica Pegasus on Monday. Spencer has hailed their VEN list as comparable with world standards. - Contributed

Patients who are unable to get certain types of medication in public pharmacies across the island are to soon to get relief as the Ministry of health and environment moves this week to review the vital, essential and necessary (VEN) list.

The World Health Organisation recommends an essential drug list for rational drug use which guides the development of the VEN list. Public health facilities in Jamaica only provide drugs that are on the VEN list.

"We will be meeting this week to update the VEN list," Dr Sheila Campbell-Forrester, chief medical officer, told The Gleaner Monday.

On April 1, user fees were abolished in public health facilities islandwide, except at the University Hospital of the West Indies. Patients do not have to pay for, among other things, registration, surgeries, medication and X-ray.

Campbell-Forrester was unable to give details on the number or categories of drugs that were on the list. However, she noted that some new and expensive antibiotics are not on the list. The meeting, she said, was to determine if there were viable alternatives to these drugs.

Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said earlier this month that the VEN list was more comprehensive than those existing in many developing countries.

Concern

Opposition Spokesperson on Health, Fenton Ferguson also in April expressed concern that while medication was free, most were not available in the facilities.

Meanwhile, there have been complaints that persons living with HIV/AIDS are still being asked to pay $1,000 for antiretroviral medication. Campbell-Forrester said patients were no longer required to pay for this type of drugs.

Antiretroviral medication was highly subsidised through a grant from the Global Fund. Campbell-Forrester said the ministry would be compelled to find the money to fund this expensive medication when the grant was no longer available.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com