Pharmacist bodies to protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar today
| Date :29-Nov-2019 |
By Rajendra Diwe :
Various unions and organisations of Pharmacists across the country will stage agitation on November 29 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the recent draft to amend schedule K of The Drugs and Cosmetics Act to empower community health workers to store and dispense drugs. There are as many as 28 different organisations of pharmacists on national-level as well as on state levels across the country and these organisations have an opinion that the proposed amendment would lead to the end of pharmacy profession. A recent gazette notification issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has proposed to amend Schedule K against serial number 23 for the entries under the column ‘Class of Drugs’ under Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945.
The gazette recommended to substitute the column ‘Class of Drugs’ as “Drugs supplied by Health Functionaries including Community Health Officers, Nurses, Auxiliary Nurse, Midwives and Lady Health Visitors attached to Primary Health Centres/Sub Centres/Health and Wellness centres in rural and urban areas; Community Health Volunteers such as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) under the National Health Mission and Anganwadi Workers.” The office-bearers of organisations like Indian Pharmacists Association (IPA); Indian Registered Pharmacists Association (IRPA); Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (IPGA) etc in city have stated that the proposed amendments would violate the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, Pharmacy act and also article 16 and article 47 of Indian Constitution.
The office bearers mentioned, “The Government has been depriving pharmacists with their fundamental rights to practice their profession for earning their livelihood, although the National Health Policy 2017 suggested for including pharmacists also for developing mid-level practitioners for rural area as Community Health Officer.” The bodies also criticised the draft for the adverse impact of it on the profession of pharmacy which includes chances of loss of employment, safety issues while dispensing drugs, the possibility of deterioration of potency of medicines due to ignorance of maintaining storage conditions by non competent staff, increase in antibiotic resistance and ineffectiveness of new generation of antibiotics after use. MSPC objections Meanwhile, Saili Masal, Registrar of Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council along with President of Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council, Vijay Patil have written a letter to The Under Secretary (Drugs) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India raising objections on Draft Rules to Amend Schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945.
The letter says, “Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council on behalf of more than 2,60,000 registered pharmacists in Maharashtra State proactively and strongly objects the Draft Rules and requests to revoke the proposed amendment of schedule K in the interest of health of public at large.” PCI objections The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) a statutory body working under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India in its letter to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated, “ PCI’s major objections to the proposed amendment are: extension of exemptions to urban areas; inclusion of ASHA workers; the class of drugs to be dispensed/supplied by health functionaries is not defined and applicability of exemptions to wellness centres.”
In its 20 page letter PCI mentioned, “The country as sufficient trained and competent human resource for dispensing and handling of drugs, there seems no need to extend the exemptions of having untrained workforce for handling the dispensing and distribution of the drugs to Indian population. The proposed amendment of allowing cadres other than a Pharmacist to dispense and distribute the drugs would lead to erosion of quality of pharmaceutical services provided to the Indian population thus creating further challenges to health care like a) antibiotic resistance, b) over use or under use of drugs, c) therapeutic duplication, d) drug disease interactions, d) drug interactions, e) incorrect drug dosage or duration of drug treatment, g) drug allergy interactions and clinical abuse/misuse etc.”
PCI further stated that the proposed amendment would make the trained workforce unemployed leading to unrest amongst already existing 1.2 million qualified pharmacy professionals besides around three lakh pharmacists passing out per annum. A letter signed by Archana Mudgal, Registrar cum Secretary of PCI urged the Government to set aside the proposed amendment of schedule K. PCI has made a prayer as: “While structuring the human resource needs for not only urban areas but also for rural areas in line with NHP 2017, a registered pharmacist may be made a required human resource in these wellness centres in urban areas and exemption granted under serial number 23 of schedule K to other cadres in the wellness centres be set aside. This would also contribute to the Key Policy Principles of NHP 2017 wherein Government is committed to provide quality healthcare to the Indian population without any discrimination on caste, creed, financial status and geographical location.”