Ugandan challenges in medicines management
Supply of medication:
- Tackling inconsistent monthly supplies as these are having an impact on both inpatients and outpatients throughout Mental Health services in Uganda.
Quality and cost of medication:
- Ensuring that pharmaceutical quality is high, guarding against counterfeit medicines and gaining access to newer medicines with fewer side effects. Also addressing some of the disparities in price between European and Ugandan commonly used psychotropics.
Medicines Safety Systems:
- Prescribing, dispensing, administration, monitoring of medication.
Activity thus far:
- A Commonwealth Fellowship visit by Gad Twikirize to the UK to learn more about medicines safety systems, the role of clinical pharmacy and seeing how the whole pharmacy service runs in East London. UK representative James Innes then visited Butabika Hospital and took part in lecturing staff on the treatment of the common psychiatric conditions, helping Gad consolidate on the clinical elements of his visit to the UK and also focussing more specifically on issues affecting medicine supply and analysing existing medicines management processes.
Future plans:
- Exploring methods for avoiding shortages of supply of commonly used medicines as these are having a profound impact on both inpatients and outpatients.