- Title
- Patients and healthcare professionals’ experiences of medicine unavailability at a primary healthcare centre in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole
- Creator
- Ndzamela, Sisipo
- Subject
- Primary care (Medicine) -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Subject
- Pharmacy -- Practice -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Medical economics
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MPharm
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22431
- Identifier
- vital:29969
- Description
- Medicine stock-outs and shortages are being increasingly reported throughout South Africa. Primary healthcare centres are largely affected as many of them don’t have pharmacists and pharmacist support personnel to manage medicine stock levels. With the efforts to improve medicine availability and accessibility healthcare professionals have adopted informal networks through a borrowing system of medicines with other facilities The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of patients and healthcare professionals of the unavailability of medicines at a primary healthcare (PHC) centre in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. Using a qualitative approach, indepth interviews were conducted with 8 patients and 12 healthcare professionals including doctors, a pharmacist, pharmacy support personnel and nurses at a primary healthcare centre. These interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using Atlas.ti® network. The following major themes were identified; types of medicines that are unavailable, causes of stock-outs, psychological influence on both patients and healthcare professionals, compensatory measures and the central chronic dispensing and distribution program. Patient experiences included dissatisfaction and loss of confidence in the healthcare service delivery. Dissatisfied patients expressed emotions of anger and frustration. Also, unavailability of medicines resulted in stressed and burnt out healthcare professionals who have endured violence and verbal abuse from patients because of medicine stock-outs. Participants suggested that medicine stock-outs and shortages are most often due to delays in the delivery of stock by the depot. To counteract these effects healthcare professionals have adopted a borrowing system with other clinics. Furthermore, it was evident that the Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution program (CCMDD) implemented by the Department of Health to improve availability and accessibility of medicines was perceived to be ineffective. Therefore, the issue of medicine stock-outs negatively affects service delivery, and those involved experience psychological harm which then affects inter-professional relationships. Overcoming this issue would promote a better healthcare system within the country.
- Format
- xi, 112 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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