Paraguarí hospital faces shortages of reagents, medicines and a CT scanner

Patients at Paraguay’s Paraguarí Regional Hospital are reporting months of shortages of medicines and basic medical supplies, including gloves, syringes and intravenous equipment.

Hospital director Luis Yd said the facility remains open and that no doctors have resigned. He explained that medicine supplies depend on stocks held by the Health Ministry, with available products distributed through the Ninth Health Region. Some items, however, are temporarily unavailable.

The hospital’s CT scanner has also been out of service for 22 days after a tube malfunctioned. Patients who need scans are being referred to the National Hospital of Itauguá or to medical centers in Asunción. Yd said the scanner is especially important because the hospital has an intensive care unit. The equipment was installed in January 2016 under an agreement between the Paraguarí governor’s office and the Health Ministry.

The hospital is waiting for the ministry to complete the process of purchasing a replacement part. The laboratory faces a separate shortage of reagents needed for blood-gas, electrolyte and thyroid-profile tests. Samples from intensive-care patients are sent to Itauguá under an agreement between the hospitals.

Patients receiving outpatient care or staying in regular wards must cover the cost of some tests themselves until the reagent supply returns to normal. Elena Caballero, a resident of Mbuyapey, said people who can afford it buy medicines and supplies privately, while those without money must organize activities to raise the funds.