Medicines you no longer want or need can go a long way in helping the sick and needy. Meera Murugesan finds out how
WHEN was the last time you cleared out your medicine cabinet?
Most cabinets will have the usual medications for fever, cough or flu while some families may have a larger stock, especially if there are elderly people in the house who have regular hospital visits.
Many of these drugs lie unused in our cupboards or drawers for various reasons and much of it is thrown away when we finally make the effort to tidy up.
HEALING THE NEEDY
Unwanted medicines need not end up in the dumpster; they can be put to good use and a joint project between Tung Shin Hospital and Kechara Soup Kitchen is showing the way.
Early this year, drop boxes were created and placed at the hospital for patients, their families and members of the public to donate unused or unwanted medicines.
These drugs are then carefully sorted out and given to Kechara Soup Kitchen for use by its medical arm, which provides basic medical services to the homeless and urban poor.
Consultant physician at Tung Shin Hospital Dr Ming Hui Ying, who is involved in the project, says it is a wonderful way to ensure that unwanted or excess medicines are not just thrown away but put to good use to treat the homeless and urban poor who can’t afford to buy medication and who don’t have easy access to medical care.
She has been a volunteer with the soup kitchen’s medical team since the beginning of this year but prior to that, she was already actively involved with the organisation’s food distribution network.
She says Kechara’s medical arm always has a need for basic drugs as well as dressings, bandages, medical creams and lotions.
At Tung Shin Hospital, she also noticed that many patients had huge amounts of unused medicines, some of which were obtained from other hospitals where the patients sought treatment prior to coming to Tung Shin.
In some cases, the old drugs can no longer be used because doctors have reassessed the patient and changed or updated the medicine to better address his condition.
Similarly, when patients are admitted to the ward, medicine that they have obtained from out-patient clinics may sometimes no longer be used.
In the case of elderly patients who have passed away, family members often find themselves saddled with unused medicines and these are often discarded.
“What we are doing is taking unwanted or excess medicines and turning it into a valuable resource to treat people who really need medical care,” explains Dr Ming.
Also, people who frequently discard unused medicines fail to realise that some drugs, especially antibiotics, should not simply be thrown away as these may end up in our waterways and affect the flora and fauna.
AVOIDING WASTAGE
Dr Ming says most people would easily have paid RM50 or a few hundred ringgit for just one type of drug so it doesn’t make sense to waste it.
Besides ordinary individuals, Dr Ming’s colleagues at Tung Shin also donate medicine to the drop box from their own personal stock while nurses diligently collect unwanted medicines left behind by patients after discharge.
Dr Ming works with a team at the hospital to carefully sort out the donated drugs. She stresses that drugs donated must contain a clear indication of its name as well as its expiry date.
“The medicine must be labelled properly or, if possible, still be in its original packaging so we can do proper identification before dispensing.”
Any kind of medicine can be donated, whether it’s over-the-counter drugs or prescription medicine as well as medical aids such as bandages, gauze, dressing solutions and creams and lotions.
Even the medicine packets or envelopes given out by the hospital are reused for the homeless if patients no longer want them.
Dr Ming says the recycled envelopes are used to pack medicine for the homeless and one just has to re-write over the existing instructions so the person knows his dosage.
Besides medicine, some people even put cash into the drop box and this money is used to purchase medication which is needed but not acquired through the box.
“Ideally, a project like this should be expanded to all hospitals in the country so we can collect enough to help many more people,” she says.
EASING THE PAIN
Besides fever, flu, aches and pains, Dr Ming says many of the homeless have open wounds and sores due to their harsh living conditions and the Kechara medical team helps to clean their wounds and dress them. Some of the people they see also suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure.
“Although they should be under regular treatment and monitoring for these conditions, they are not willing to go to a clinic or hospital so we give them a short term dosage but still encourage them to seek proper treatment,” says Dr Ming.
Antihistamines are given to those with allergies and many homeless people also require gastric medicine because they don’t have enough to eat or don’t eat regularly. There are even cases of people living in the streets who are suffering from cancer.
Dr Ming says that in such situations, there is not much the team can do if the person refuses to go to hospital. However, they do dispense pain relief medicine to help alleviate their suffering and make them a little more comfortable.
“Because we’re operating on the streets, we can treat basic medical conditions but if a case is complicated, we always encourage them to go to a hospital,” she says.
MEDICALLY TRAINED VOLUNTEERS
KECHARA’s mobile clinic in Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur was started in 2012 and operates every Saturday. It treats 20 to 50 people each week. However, this figure can be much higher during certain periods.
Justin Cheah, project director of Kechara Soup Kitchen, says that at the time the clinic is operating, volunteers go around the city to distribute food. In the process they may come across other homeless or poor people needing medical attention.
TENDING TO THE VULNERABLE
The volunteers then alert the command centre which will dispatch a medical team to the location.
“Sometimes, we go to a particular location to attend to one person and find 10 others waiting for medical care because they heard we are coming,” says Cheah.
Among the soup kitchen’s volunteers are doctors, nurses and pharmacists and they are dedicated to helping the homeless and urban poor get medical help.
Basic medical care is something many of us take for granted but for people living on the streets, it’s a rare luxury.
Kechara’s medical service is not just about providing medical care but it is also a means for its volunteers to get to know the homeless or urban poor and gather information about their situation.
HELPING THEM MOVE FORWARD
“Some of the people we help through our medical service regularly come for follow-ups and they do open up to us about their problems and life histories and this information is valuable,” says Cheah.
The information can be used to address the social situation of a homeless person and get him back on his feet and off the streets.
Cheah says many homeless people are reluctant to seek treatment at hospitals for various reasons. Some are illiterate or don’t have proper identification documents, while others just have a fear of hospitals.
There are also those who may already owe hospital fees for past admissions or treatments, so they avoid going back for fear of being held accountable.
But many are simply too poor to pay for anything so they avoid seeking treatment. Very often, for people whose primary struggle is for food, medical care is not a priority.
“When you are in a situation where you can’t even afford a meal and don’t have a home, your priority is basic survival, not medical care.”