Death lists reserved only for patients in cantons with a Bosniak majority, but silence prevails for the sake of peace and positions

(Patria) - Member of the Party of BiH in the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton (KS) Jasmin Šaljić appealed to the competent authorities to finally tackle the long-standing problems faced by oncological patients in the larger BiH entity.

- Leaving your fellow citizens, oncological patients, alone in the fight for mere survival, without the possibility of treatment and letting them fend for themselves without adequate help from the healthcare system is a crime in itself - Šaljić told the Novinska agencija Patria (NAP).

He warns that, apart from oncological patients from KS and Bosansko-podrinjski canton (BPK) Goražde who were on the list getting the chance to be treated through cantonal institutes - nothing else has changed.

- A huge number of patients still lack the opportunity for treatment because their medications are not indicated by the Federal Ministry and they cannot get on the list, which means they cannot be treated. Despite KS and BPK taking over their patients from the federal waiting list, today we have 126 more patients on the list than in the same period last year.

In addition, we have hundreds of patients who cannot get on the waiting list because the Federal Ministry of Health does not want to expand the indications for medications. These patients cannot even get a refund because their medication has not been included by the commissions for their disease, even though it is prescribed by the attending oncologist.

So, not everyone can get on the list. Only patients for whom the Federal Ministry's commission has indicated the medication get on the list. If the commission has not indicated the medication for cancer, the patients buy it themselves and are not entitled to a refund.

Medications are expensive and cost several thousand marks per month. Patients and their families are left to fend for themselves, taking out loans to the limit, and after that, they are forced to sell their own houses and apartments - Šaljić notes.

He emphasizes that this is a devastating fact for a community, institutions, government, ministries, and the healthcare system.

- Outdated therapies are in use because the list of oncological drugs has not been expanded and revised for over six years, meaning no new drug has been added to the list. According to our law, this is mandatory once a year, while in Europe, the list of medications is revised up to six times in a single year - says Šaljić.

According to him, hundreds of new and so-called smart drugs have appeared on the market in the meantime. KCUS chronically lacks basic cytostatics and hormonal therapy, and at the same time, it is very difficult to get appointments for specialist examinations.

- It is important to note that the prescribed therapy has no alternative and cannot be replaced by another cytostatic that is currently available. The Oncology Clinic has 89 cytostatics on its list. The official website, updated on September 5, states that the following cytostatics are missing: exedral (tabl.), tamoxifen (tabl.), carboplatin (amp.), flutamid (tabl.), letrozol (tabl.), and irinocetan (amp.).

In August, exedral (tabl.), eligard three-month (inj.), oxalplatin (amp.), tamoxifen (tabl.), and fulvestrant (inj.) were missing. In May and June, bicalutamide and blastomat tablets of 20 mg were unavailable.

All these medications are now produced with reduced intensity because they are outdated, while the market is flooded with new medications, and it will be increasingly difficult to obtain these outdated medications, so the situation, according to oncological patients, can only get worse - Šaljić tells us.

He also points out that the slowness in registering new drugs, for which the Agency for Medicines of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible, is a big problem.

- It is unclear why the registration of a drug that is used all over the world, including in neighboring countries, takes more than a year in our BiH? The sole culprits for the agony of oncological patients are the Government of FBiH, the BiH Agency for Medicines, the federal institute, and the ministry.

This situation, shortages, and death lists are reserved only for oncological patients in cantons with a Bosniak majority, that is now clear to everyone, but silence prevails for the sake of peace and positions.

The authorities in the Federation, i.e., the Federal Government, have paid only 25 percent of the allocated amount into the Fund, specifically 70 out of the planned 280 million marks.

No one from the Government dares to even ask Minister Rimac about the unnecessary bureaucratic procedures that oncological patients face while simultaneously fighting cancer for their lives. And perhaps they don't care - Šaljić concluded in a statement for NAP.

(D.K.)