Ranchi: Over 300 pharmacists, under the aegis of Pharmacist
Foundation, staged a demonstration near Raj Bhavan on Wednesday to press
for a nine-point charter of demands.
The demands include
immediately filling up over 1,500 vacant posts of pharmacists in
hospitals across the state, increasing minimum appointment age from 18
to 45 years, organising a bridge course for pharmacists on the lines of
the gazette notification of Union government under Pharmacy Practice
Regulation Act 2015, among others.
On the unusual demand of
hiking the minimum age to 45, pharmacists reasoned that as state
vacancies had not been declared for 18 years, many veterans never got a
chance.
Some of the other demands
are immediate closure of illegal medicine shops, legal action against
fake pharmacists, increasing monthly salary of pharmacists from Rs
25,000 to Rs 35,000, stopping appointments through outsourcing and
issuing appointment notice for vacant posts every six months.
Pharmacists carried on the protest from 11am to 5pm.
According
to national secretary and state in-charge of the foundation Jitendra
Sharma, over 4,000 pharmacists across the state are sitting idle without
jobs, while those with no training in the field are running drug stores
and handing medicines at cost of patients' lives.
"Doctors
prescribe medicines, but the role of pharmacist is equally important.
They are authorised persons to explain a patient how and when medicines
should be taken. But due to the lax attitude of the state government,
pharmacists are neglected," he said.
Contacted, health secretary
Nidhi Khare said she would look into the matter. "Action would be taken
against untrained people working at medicine shops," she said.
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