Media: Netherlands facing growing shortage of antibiotics for children
There is a growing shortage of antibiotics for children and infants in the Netherlands, RIA Novosti reports
Hellen Huijbers, the Director of the Eindhoven medical organisation Stroomz, sain in an interview with the Eindhovens Dagblad newspaper that, “There have been shortages of medicines in the Netherlands for some time. But antibiotics are a basic need. Almost everyone needs it at some point in their life. And that there is now a shortage of antibiotics for children and babies… Then you think, how is this possible? But it is the reality.”
She also stressed that it has so far been able to meet the needs of every parent who needs an antibiotic for their child in the area, where the Stroomz health centres are located. However, ‘the shortage is very serious and very alarming’. Moreover, the country depends on manufacturers in Asia, where there are also supply problems.
Last summer, the Dutch Public Health Council said the country’s health system was in need of reform, noting that increasing numbers of citizens are being deprived of access to medical care to which they are entitled.
