GSA launches standard for laboratory practice
The Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Ghana, Alhaji Audu Rauf, says the council will apply its regulatory tools to improve access to affordable and quality medicines and pharmaceutical services in retail drug outlets in rural or peri-urban areas with few or no registered pharmacies.
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Although the Over the Counter Medicine Seller (OTCMS) facilities were important sources of medicines for a significant proportion of the population in Ghana, the council said it would also work with them to address the challenges associated with their practice.
Alhaji Rauf said the improper storage of medicines, untrained and unqualified staff manning facilities and the renting of licences to unauthorised persons by some practitioners were some of the unlawful practices within that segment of the system which posed great threat to public health and safety.
Quality care
At a durbar in Accra last Wednesday to engage the members of the OTCMS on quality pharmaceutical care, Alhaji Rauf said practitioners were obliged to practise within the tenets of the law and provide pharmaceutical services that assured quality patient care and safety.
“The National Healthcare Quality Strategy advocates quality healthcare provision across all sectors of health delivery. As the regulator of pharmaceutical care, the Pharmacy Council is calling for a holistic approach that combines changing the behaviour and expectations of those who use and own drug facilities,” he added.
Drug peddling
Alhaji Rauf also advised the members to purge themselves of individuals who were actively involved in drug peddling by furnishing the council with information about them and their operations.
“The council will engage the Ministry of Health (MoH) and all relevant stakeholders to address the issue of inadequate access to medicines, particularly in rural and deprived areas which seem to fuel drug peddling,” he stressed.
Advice
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paracelsus Pharmacy and Marketing Company Limited, Mr Harrison Kofi Abutiate, advised members of OTCMS to update their knowledge and skills regularly.
“As members, your duty is to keep reading to create new ideas in your environment with which to give your customers the chance to open up to you,” he said.