Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton yesterday refuted allegations that there was a shortage of HIV testing kits at the Georgetown Public Hospital and certain health centres.In a letter to the Stabroek News titled “There is a shortage of HIV testing kits in Guyana,” activist Sherlina Nageer, stated that she had personally checked testing sites in Guyana and discovered the shortage,Cheap Jerseys, which have been the cry of health workers for months.“Just last week I was turned away from a public testing site in central Georgetown because they did not have the kits and told that I had to go to a private laboratory if I needed a test urgently,” she said in her letter,Cheap NFL Jerseys Store, arguing that the situation was an “appalling and unacceptable state of affairs”.Efforts to contact Nageer yesterday for a comment on the issue proved futile. However, Nageer stated in her letter that a lot of money and time have been spent over the years to get persons to be tested and now they are being turned away because of a shortage of kits.“Testing is a crucial component of the fight against the spread of HIV and a grave disservice is being perpetrated against the Guyanese public by HIV testing kits not being readily available at all times,Wholesale NHL Jerseys,” she said.Notwithstanding, Norton told Kaieteur News that Nageer statement is “true to an extent” but that there were enough testing kits to last until others were procured.? He stated that the Ministry was in the process of procuring a fresh set of testing kits.He further stated that the Ministry has since contacted Nageer and offered to have her tested at another public health facility. “We can give her a Christmas wish today if she wanted,” he said,Cheap Jerseys, referencing to Nageer mentioning that she hopes to be tested before the end of the year.He added that he was alarmed by her statements. “If what she said was true we sought to let her know immediately that the situation was under control.”Questioned if her statement that the situation was widespread,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Norton answered: “It might have been possible but as I said we have enough”.Nageer argued that there is a need for the Ministry to address problems plaguing their inventory and procurement systems.? “These are not new issues; there is a long history of shortages of basic supplies and medication in the public health sector of Guyana, and inefficiency and mismanagement of this sector has been well documented over the years,Cheap NFL Jerseys,” she said.