KARACHI: With only a few weeks left in ending of his mandate, Sindh caretaker Health Minister Dr Saad Khalid Niaz on Saturday expressed the resolve that he would ensure reforms that would lead to significant change in ‘medical store’ culture in Sindh under which presence of a pharmacist would be a must at every pharmacy selling prescription medicines.

“Such reforms are crucial because lack of discipline in the sensitive business of medicines can lead to disastrous consequences and the country has already witnessed a few of them like the incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) typhoid cases,” he said while addressing an oath taking ceremony of the newly elected office bearers of the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) Sindh at a local hotel.

“One can only wonder how freely antibiotics are available here in our country. I have worked and practiced abroad and I know how much regulated and controlled this business is. So we are working on it. Though we have a very little time left, we will ensure the programme, which will lead to presence of pharmacists at every pharmacy.”

He disagreed with the idea to outright abolish the concept of ‘medical stores’ saying that such facilities should stay intact with services as ‘drugs store’ and should offer only those medicines which were non-prescription drugs.

Dr Niaz asked pharmacists to make sure that their licences were not used for malpractices and they should also help the government and regulatory bodies to implement the laws.

“I fully agree with the idea that there should be one pharmacist at each 50-bed health facility,” he said while referring to the proposal presented before his speech.

“I would really want to make move in this regard. The government hospitals as well as the private sector should ensure these standards at their facilities. We don’t have a shortage of trained and professional manpower. We just need to channelize and utilise them.”

Earlier, the newly-elected PPA president Adnan Rizvi briefed the participants in the ceremony about the manifesto of the new body and its plan to bring about change in the overall working environment and professional capacity building of fellow pharmacists.

He also asked the pharmaceutical industry to step up and share their responsibility by offering good working environment and salary packages to young graduates who had spent five good years acquiring quality education.

“And these pharmacists are actually the bright minds which bring knowledge and value to the industry. They should be rewarded with what they deserve. I would ask the pha­rma industry to review their salary packages and absorb the maximum number of young graduates to stop the brain drain,” he said.

Prof Dr Faiyaz H.M. Vaid, Dean Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Karachi seconded the opinion and called for better coordination between educational institutions and pharma industry as one among them was producing human resources for the other.

“I suggest all stakeholders whether they’re medical science education institutions, pharmacists or pharma industry to sit together and devise a plan for better coordination which would benefit all students and young graduates and industry. And most importantly, it would fill the gaps in our healthcare system,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2023