PARBAT: The Parbat District Hospital has been facing acute shortage of essential medicines for the past one month.

The Cetamol tablets used in minor fever, Metronidazole used to counter diarrhea and Amoxicillin antibiotic used to contain bacterial transmission among 18 different types of medicines are in short supply or unavailable.

Salbutamol ( 4 mg) used by asthma patients, Brufen and Buscopan tablets used to alleviate pain and Serelaxin for eye treatment among other essential medicines have already been finished, District Hospital's Acting Chief Dr Saroj Chandra Dahal said.

The hospital is now facing shortage of saline water and iron tablets distributed cost-free to expectant mothers. Although the government had provisioned the distribution of 72 types of medicines for free, the District Hospital is barely managing 30 types of medicines.

The patients are being referred to private clinics to purchase medicines as the hospital's drug store has drained out.

Dr Dahal claimed that the medicinal dearth is a result of delayed dispatch of medicines' tender last year.