HYDERABAD: Office-bearers of the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) provincial chapter have urged the Sindh governor to fill all the vacant seats of pharmacists in government hospitals and create 914 more sanctioned seats as pharmacists’ requirement in the provincial public sector hospitals, considering the fact that pharmacists play a crucial role in the management of medicines’ doses for patients.

Addressing a press conference at the local press club here on Sunday, PPA leaders said that only 157 pharmacists were presently working in Sindh government hospitals against the sanctioned posts of 366. They also staged a protest demonstration outside the local club.

In fact 1,280 posts, in all, were needed, considering the number of basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs) in Sindh, they said, adding that 914 posts were to be created in hospitals. Those who spoke at the press conference included Dr Shahzad Hussain Qureshi, Dr Ali Abbas, Dr Ali Qureshi, Dr Ahsan Memon and others.

As per job description of a pharmacist, they said, he was entirely responsible for formulation of medicines, preservation and efficacy while doctors only prescribed drugs. They said successive governments had not given serious attention to pharmacists, who held an important position in health sector the world over.

Even within Pakistan, they explained, there was world of difference as in Punjab one pharmacist was posted for every 50 beds and one drug inspector at the taluka level as medicines could not be sold without pharmacists, but in Sindh there was no drug inspector in five districts and inexperienced people were running medical stores. Even in Balochistan, over 800 pharmacists were working, they said.

They said that in the absence of pharmacists, wrong medicines were sold that caused deaths. They said the secretary health of Sindh was president of the Sindh Pharmacy Council by virtue of his post to issue registration of pharmacists, but for the past three years, 600 pharmacists were awaiting their registration from him.

They said that without registration, no jobs were offered to them. They urged the Sindh government to give pharmacists their due share in government jobs so that they could play their effective role. One pharmacist should be appointed for every 50 bed and drug inspectors should be posted at the taluka level, they added. They said that pharmacists’ presence should be ensured at every medical store and pharmacy failing, otherwise medical stores should not be allowed to sell medicines.

They demanded that the Sindh Pharmacy Council should be made functional, adding that pharmacists should be given stipend based one year residency like house job doctors. They said that only in Hyderabad 200 to 300 pharmacists could be accommodated in government hospital given the number of patients admitted there usually, adding that pharmacists role which was crucial for purchase of medicines had been totally excluded.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2020