The president of SYRIZA talked about the complete absence of controls on the market and pharmaceutical warehouses
The need to take immediate measures for the huge shortages of medicines in the country was underlined by the president of SYRIZA PS, Alexis Tsipras, in the meeting he had with his presidency Pharmaceutical Association of Atticastressing that “this very serious problem must be addressed immediately with controls on the market and pharmaceutical warehouses and with the prohibition of parallel exports, in order to ensure the adequacy and the possibility of access to the medicine for all citizens”.
Mr. Tsipras sounded the alarm about drug shortages, stressing that “we are worried because we are once again facing a resurgence of a health crisis with an outbreak of viruses and coronavirus”, while he pointed out that “especially with the opening of schools, a large congestion in public hospitals as well, with the National Health Service unable to respond”.
He characterized as “vital” the need to ensure citizens’ access to medicines, underlining that “access to medicine cannot be like access to any other commercial product, it is a necessity of life. And therefore it cannot be in the logic of the operation of the markets in which no one can intervene”.
In this context, the president of SYRIZA PS accused the government of “once again allowing a problem to turn into a crisis either from managerial incompetence or from ideologue”, embellishing the government’s excuses for international drug shortages.
“Once again we see the familiar excuses, that everyone else is to blame except those who have the responsibility to order market controls. It’s the fault of doctors who overprescribe, it’s the fault of parents who stockpile medicines for their children, it’s the fault of China and India who limit raw materials, but it’s not our fault,” he noted, referring to the complete absence of controls on the market and pharmacies.
At the same time, he accused the government of showing “tolerance to pharmaceutical warehouses that proceed with parallel exports of preparations to the European market with the aim of profiteering, because Greece has secured a low price”. Indicative of the government’s responsibilities for drug shortages is the lifting of the ban on parallel exports of preparations, which, as the President of SYRIZA PS said, was carried out by the EOF a year ago.
Finally, he pointed out that in addition to simple medicines, there is also a shortage of “certain categories of irreplaceable medicines for citizens with chronic health problems, who if they don’t find them will face a very serious problem even for their own lives”.
Lourantos: I have been a pharmacist for 44 years and I have never experienced anything like this
For his part, the President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Attica spoke in dramatic tones about the situation. “I have been in the profession for 44 years and I have never experienced anything like this,” he said.
He emphasized that pharmacists have been warning for more than a year about drug shortages, but their warnings were not heeded by the leadership of the Ministry of Health. “From January 2022 we started discussing the shortages. On January 7, 2022, we issued a Press Release and said that the situation carries risks,” he said characteristically and added “on October 24, we said in a document that 400 medicines – and essential ones – are missing from the Greek market. We have issued too many press releases, we have sent documents, but no one is listening. If the issue had not been picked up by the media and the opposition, no one would be concerned today.”
He also highlighted the absence of controls in the market saying that “parallel exports have doubled in the last year” and wondered “who controlled these exports?” How did they happen?” He left spikes for EOF and IFET saying that “IFET medicines are also missing, which he had to bring to cover the shortages. The EOF and by its very nature by law has priority to cover the market when there is a shortage. I don’t see him doing it.”
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