There is a serious shortage of medicines in many cities.
Ukrainians massively write to social networks about the catastrophic shortage of medicines and non-working pharmacies. What institutions operate in wartime and where to look for medicines besides pharmacies work, including in Kyiv. Residents of the city wandered for hours in their districts in search of medicines.
On February 27, Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko called on pharmacists to return to their jobs, UNIAN agency reported.
«I appeal to those who can come to the pharmacy today, but did not come for one reason or another. It is not easier for our guys on the front lines today. And they show by their example that we all must do our job,” said the head of the Ministry of Health. According to the department, there were no orders to close pharmacies, the decision on the functioning of pharmaceutical institutions is made by their owners. According to the Ministry of Health, pharmacy kiosks in hospitals are open.
The next day, February 28, Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration Petr Olenich announced that a map of open pharmacies has been created in the capital. On it you can see not only the opening hours of institutions, but also the availability of insulin there. The map is also available in the app «Kyiv digital».
The full list of working pharmacies as of March 3 was published in his telegram channel by the mayor of the shelled Irpin Alexander Markushin.
Pharmacies , which work in Irpin (data on 3.03)
Some large chains also constantly update the lists of working pharmacies on their websites. For example, «ANZ» gives information not only in Kiev, but also in some other cities, including Zaporozhye, Berdyansk, Odessa, and so on.
In Kharkov, not a single ANC pharmacy is now works, but you can find open establishments in nearby settlements on the map.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine asks citizens in need of medicines to call the department contact center by phone: 0 800 60 20 19. Operators record requests and pass them on for prompt resolution, according to the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Health.
Valentina Ginzburg, director of the Kyiv Health Department, in turn, emphasized that patients with diabetes can purchase insulin in the capital using an electronic or paper prescription. According to the official, in addition to insulin, paper prescriptions now also cover life-saving drugs for patients with chronic diseases, as well as drugs dispensed under the «Affordable Medicines» program. You can get a paper prescription from your family doctor or from a specialist in consultative and diagnostic centers.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health reports that paper prescriptions for drugs under the «Affordable Medicines» Ukrainians can get it from any doctor providing primary care, regardless of whether a declaration is signed with him or not. The new procedure is enshrined in the order of the department dated February 28.
Help someone else. Drug exchange
Even if there is a working pharmacy in your area, it is far from certain that you will be able to find the right medicine there. However, the residents of the capital united and help each other on their own. First of all you can search for the necessary drugs in the group of your district/residential area or chat at home, there are such throughout Kiev and in many large cities of Ukraine. Separate chats have also been created on social networks for exchanging medicines.
In the capital, the telegram channel «Obmin faces of Kyiv« is doing a good job for this purpose. Here you can post information about the medicines that you are ready to share, you can write about what drugs you need, and also search for pharmacies with the drug you need. Many users in the chat are trying to find prescription drugs. There is a similar group on Facebook, where you can also look for contacts of volunteers who help distribute drugs around the city.
There is a similar channel for exchanging drugs in Kharkiv. «A pregnant woman needs any iron preparation»,«I really need the drug «Zonic» from epilepsy & # 187;, & # 171; For a diabetic 80 years old & # 171; Glycad & # 187; are just a few of today's chat messages, and there are dozens of similar ones.
There are also niche groups. For example, a channel for the exchange of diabetic drugs throughout Ukraine. Patients from different regions of the country write here asking for help in finding insulin and other drugs.
Volunteers have also developed a special questionnaire for those who need specific, non-legalized drugs, which are now especially difficult to get. They will be asked for as humanitarian aid from manufacturers.
Ukrainian pharmaceutical company «Darnytsia», in turn, stated that during the week of the war, 500,000 packages of its products were donated to medical institutions and volunteer organizations for free , which should distribute medicines to the civilian population and military structures. As an aid, the company provided painkillers, cardiac, sedative and other drugs. Company «Yuria-Pharm» asked for help in logistics to transport medicines from Cherkassy to Dnipro to provide military doctors with medicines. I would like to see the same humanitarian initiatives from other representatives of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical business.