Rogers: Drug Tracking System Has Yet to Be Implemented Despite Years of Calls

Jale Refik Rogers, a parliamentary candidate for the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), appeared on Kıbrıs Postası TV’s “Sabah Postası” programme, hosted and presented by Gökhan Altıner, where she discussed the election campaign, problems in the healthcare system, medicine supplies, prison conditions and social services.

Saying that she felt at home again after deciding to join the CTP, Rogers noted that there was a general expectation of change in society. She said that she had faced various political labels during her four years as an independent MP, adding that she had never considered standing as a candidate for any party other than the CTP and had not made her decision public until it was formally confirmed.

“THE DRUG TRACKING SYSTEM HAS STILL NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED”

Highlighting the importance of a drug tracking system, Rogers said she had called for its establishment around two years ago, when issues concerning social insurance and arrests related to prescriptions came onto the agenda.

She said she had also called on the Minister of Health to take action on the matter, but argued that the system had still not been implemented despite the time that had passed.

Noting that Turkey introduced its drug tracking system in 2007 and digitised it in 2011, Rogers said Turkey had considerable experience in this field.

She explained that a drug tracking system would make it possible to monitor the entire process, from medicines entering the country to stock levels in hospitals. The system would make it possible to determine how much medicine was being used, how much remained in warehouses, identify losses and smuggling, and calculate annual medicine requirements, she said.

Rogers claimed that medicines were currently being stored and tracked at the Pharmacy Department using primitive methods, arguing that authorities often did not even know how much of a particular medicine remained in stock.

She said some medicines could still be ordered even though doctors no longer preferred to prescribe them, resulting in supplies reaching their expiry dates and having to be destroyed. Rogers stressed that a digital tracking system was necessary to address these problems in medicine management.

“POPULATION GROWTH IS PUTTING PRESSURE ON PUBLIC SERVICES”

Rogers also addressed prison capacity and security conditions, noting that the prison had once again exceeded its capacity limits. Drawing attention to the impact of population growth on healthcare, education, security and other public services, she said the existing system was struggling to cope with the burden.

Expressing her sorrow over the death of Cemaliye Onyıldız in prison, Rogers said she did not have all the details concerning the healthcare aspects of the incident but stressed that what had happened needed to be investigated. Noting that medical staff and health monitoring services were available at the prison, she said it was necessary to establish how the situation had reached that point.

“THE PUBLIC WANTS CHANGE AND A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO GOVERNANCE”

Describing the election campaign as progressing in a positive atmosphere, Rogers said the public expected the CTP to come to power. Comparing the current mood to the election atmosphere during Tufan Erhürman’s previous term, she said society wanted change and a different approach to governance and was not reluctant to express that demand.

Rogers said that although she was a Kyrenia MP, they were also campaigning in other parts of the country. She noted that holding parliamentary and local elections during the same period had caused the campaigns to overlap. While acknowledging that this had both positive and negative aspects, she said they were also trying to support mayoral candidates.

“WE HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN HEALTHCARE”

Emphasising that her approach to healthcare was not limited to criticising problems, Rogers argued that the necessary reforms and steps to improve public access to healthcare services had been known for years but had not been implemented.

Noting that medicine supply difficulties were not unique to the country, Rogers said that problems accessing raw materials after the pandemic had affected production. She added that some international companies had also halted production in Turkey, with consequences for medicine prices and supply processes.

However, Rogers said that poor planning and a lack of oversight were at the root of the medicine supply problem in the TRNC, stressing the need for a systematic approach to the procurement and tracking of medicines.

EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL SERVICES AND MERIT-BASED APPOINTMENTS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Rogers said there were also shortcomings in social services, stressing that cases of abuse in particular should not be overlooked.

Arguing that updating the Social Services Law alone would not be sufficient, Rogers said staffing levels needed to be strengthened and the necessary organisational structures established in every region to ensure more effective service delivery.

She also claimed that the work of the unit established to combat violence against women was progressing very slowly, adding that public institutions needed to be strengthened in terms of human resources.

Rogers argued that some services previously delivered successfully by state institutions could no longer be provided with the same level of effectiveness, stressing that the principle of merit-based appointments needed to be restored in the public sector.