Pharmacy Council to go after illegal service providers

The Pharmacy Council says it will adopt stringent mechanisms to deal with illegal pharmacy service providers and practitioners to help uphold the acceptable pharmaceutical practice standards.

Dr Daniel Amaning Danquah, the acting Registrar of the Pharmacy Council, said the Council would conduct a swoop on unlicensed facilities, peddlers, and those who provided services beyond the stipulated scope of their licenses.

According to him, the move, which would be done with support from the Ghana Police Service, Food and Drugs Authority and other security agents was to bring sanity in the pharmaceutical industry to help promote public health and safety among the citizenry.

He said this when he met pharmacy operators, pharmacists, and over-the-counter medicine practitioners in the Western Region.

The meeting, held in Takoradi, was to familiarise and introduce himself to key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry in the Region as the acting Registrar of the Council.

It was also to afford him the opportunity to seek stakeholders’ support to help in the successful implementation of the National Electronic Pharmacy (e-pharmacy) platform designed to enhance service delivery to clients.

According to Dr Danquah, “there is the need to enforce the practice standards which is dear to me personally because many of the current challenges we are experiencing emanate from the fact that standards are not being enforced.”

He noted that there had been reports from the Council’s inspection and monitoring where some people operated without licensing, and others provided pharmaceutical services beyond the agreed scope of their licenses.

The Ag. Pharmacy Council Registrar added that such practices were dangerous to public health and safety, saying; “If you are not licensed to perform a particular role, the recipient of that service is not guaranteed any safety and health care outcome.”

Dr Danquah mentioned that the Council would sanction those found to be operating illegally, including revoking the license of those providing services beyond their approved scope of practice.

He, therefore, appealed to pharmacy practitioners to support the Council in its quest to bring sanity in the pharmaceutical practice for improved service delivery.

He also advised members of the public to desist from patronising services from illegal pharmacy practitioners to help save them from health complications.

“It is very dangerous, risky and unhealthy if you enjoy buying medicines from peddlers and illegal operators, so we advise the general public to desist from patronising the services of those people,” Dr Danquah noted.

Speaking on the e-pharmacy platform, he said it had been developed to bring transparency, enhance quality service delivery, and make pharmaceutical practice easier.

Mr Richard Asante, the Western Regional Manager of the Pharmacy Council, expressed gratitude to the Ag. Pharmacy Council Registrar for the visit, and said the engagement affirmed the Council’s resolve to uphold acceptable practice standards.

Some of the participants who interacted with the Ghana News Agency described the meeting as timely and said it would help them to comply with all the rules governing their operations.

Source: GNA