Osnabruck
In an open letter to the Minister of Health, paediatricians have warned of an increasing shortage of medicines for children.
The President of the Professional Association of Pediatricians, Thomas Fischbach, has a drastic change in mind lack of medicines warned for children next fall and winter. Accordingly, the deficit is expected to be even larger than last year. “We will again get into a supply shortage that could get worse than last,” Fischbach told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Saturday). There is a lack of fever and pain medication in dosage forms suitable for children. There is currently no penicillin either.
Shortage of medication: open letter to Minister of Health Lauterbach
According to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, Fischbach is one of the co-signatories of an open letter from paediatricians from Germany, France, South Tyrol, Austria and Switzerland to the health ministers of the countries. “The health of our children and young people is at risk throughout Europe due to the lack of medicines. A quick, reliable and permanent solution is urgently needed!”, the NOZ quotes the fire letter to the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD).
The doctors are “greatly concerned about the significant shortage of medicines for the treatment of children and adolescents”. The bottlenecks of the last few months have meant that treatments that are neither suitable for children nor based on therapy guidelines are possible. The Health from children and young people are endangered as a result.
Professional association of paediatricians holds politicians responsible
The medics see them Politics responsible for “ensuring sufficient production and stockpiling of important pediatric primary care medicines in Europe”.
“Just a few years ago, this scenario was one lack of supply not even remotely imaginable in our countries. We see politics as having a responsibility to ensure sufficient production and stocking of important medicines for primary pediatric care in Europe,” the letter continues.
Fischbach called for the production of medicines for children in Deutschland to promote. It must again be sufficiently attractive for the manufacturers to produce the drugs. Politics must take care of that. (dpa/oli)
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