The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has condemned the composition of  boards of Federal health institutions and agencies, saying membership was skewed in favour of medical doctors.

 

They argued that since no member of the PSN was included in the board appointment, the Federal Government, through the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health, had shown bias against other medical personnel, especially phamarcists.

 

The PSN  alleged that in the list which was published on Sunday May 5, not one  pharmacist or other professions in the health field was listed as a member of any of the core teaching/specialist hospitals in the country.

 

This complaint was contained in a press statement signed by the PSN President,  Mr. Olumide Akintayo, on Tuesday.

 

 “The structuring of these boards has more than the statutory representatives of the Nigerian Medical Association to cater for the interest of the medical profession, because it is the constituency of the leading bureaucrats at the Federal Ministry of Health,” Akintayo stated.

 

He noted that the action smacks of favouritism and was certainly in bad taste, stressing that it would further exacerbate the “entropy” which had become commonplace in the health sector.

 

Akintayo, who stressed that despite the ‘‘obvious inadequacy in quality and depth of the boards’’, said it was time pharmacists were recognised as legitimate dispensers of medicines in the country.

 

Expatiating on this, he stressed that the Poison and Pharmacy Act placed certain responsibilities on pharmacists in Part III Section 7, as further validated by the National Drug Policy 2005.

 

He added, “Only registered pharmacists can dispense medicines in registered pharmacy departments/outlets.”

 

Akintayo argued that this philosophy would be logical if the concept was endorsed in public health facilities, especially Federal health institutions.

 

He said, “This is why the new boards of the Federal health institutions must encourage the creation of ward pharmacies, where personalised dispensing of medicines to in-patients becomes the norm like we see in other climes.

 

“This process, popularly dubbed Unit Dose Dispensing, is in place in a few hospitals in Nigeria.”

 

Akintayo was also not comfortable with the way the scheme of service for pharmacists was being interpreted in some of the health institutions, thus truncating the careers of PSN members.

 

He noted that despite the existence of scheme of service, many departments and agencies of government had refused to implement the scheme and the biggest culprits are the teaching and specialist hospitals and federal medical centres.

 

He stated, “For example, some hospitals are still using the old nomenclature in designating pharmacists in their employment.

 

“Despite the fact that the present scheme of service has scrapped the designation of Assistant Chief Pharmacist, some chief medical directors have refused to let their chief pharmacist on CONHESS 13 (Grade level 14) be properly designated.

 

“In other hospitals, pharmacists and other health workers who are university graduates are not allowed to reach the peak of their career as directors.”