The Health Ministry has been able to source Thiopentone locally for use at health facilities for two weeks.

Thiopentone is used by clinicians for the induction of anesthesia and is currently out of stock in the country however steps are being taken by the Health Ministry to source more from Europe and India which is expected to arrive over the next three to four days.

The Health Ministry said stock was depleted due to a huge rise in births in the last two months at divisional hospitals, with the Colonial War Memorial Hospital alone recording just over 700 births in February and over 900 in March.

Statistics reveal that almost 10 percent of all births are caesarean, and as there are also operative deliveries and diabetic cases, these have also contributed to the high demand for Thiopentone.