Hospital seeks meds help

In order to help replenish dwindling supplies, a state-run clinics in the Umphang border region of the northeastern province of Tak is urging people to donate any unused medications prescribed for an earlier illness.

According to Dr. Worawit Tantiwattanasap, the hospital’s director, Umphang Hospital now lacks the resources to handle the amount of stateless people and Myanmar citizens now crossing the border into Thailand for health care.

These patients make up 21 % of the total number of cases at the hospital, according to him, and their health care is n’t covered by any insurance plans in Thailand.

As crime in the neighboring state affects the ability of its care program to handle all those in need of therapy, he said, the number of patients, in particular, has increased.

According to the doctor, donated medications are given new, shorter expiration dates after being sorted and inspected in order to guarantee their continued efficacy when prescribed to these people. According to him, the just designated expiration dates range from three to six months.

Nevertheless, he claimed that in the three months since the doctor first requested donations, 422 kilos of medications received had to be disposed of after being deemed uninhabitable.

So, he advised all parties involved to confirm that the donated medications are still in their expiration date and have been properly stored for later use.