Stating that the Pharmacy Act is a draconian law to torture the retail medical shops, the Retail Chemists Forum (RCF), a splinter group in the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA), has informed that they will approach the High Court of Kerala requesting for a temporary stay for the pharmacy inspectors' inspections of medical stores.
The Forum also plans to form a state level organisation of non-pharmacist salesmen working in the retail and wholesale medical shops in the state.
While maintaining that the traders’ community in Kerala is not against the inspection of Pharmacy Council, the RCF chairman, C. Sanal Kumar, under whom the Forum is working as a corrective force in the AKCDA, said the State Pharmacy Council should make a platform to discuss with the pharmacy owners and other traders about the inspections and implementation of Pharmacy Practice Regulations (PPR) 2015. Without giving any prior information to the traders, the Council should not have taken this step. The traders are not against the Council or their inspections. But, they should cooperate with the traders and their suggestions and opinions should be heard.
Informing Pharmabiz about the situation prevailing in Kerala, Sanal said, there are over one lakh salesmen working in both retail and wholesale shops. Their services are available not only in the community pharmacies, but also in the Neethi medical stores, Maveli medical stores, Karunya community pharmacies, ‘sevanam’ and ‘aswaas’ outlets. The job in these medical shops is the source for them to earn bread and butter for their families. The state government has the moral responsibility to safeguard them.
“At any rate we will make the inspections stopped by court. There are more than 15000 retail chemists’ shops in Kerala. An average shop needs at least three salesmen besides a registered pharmacist. We cannot employ four or five pharmacists in a medical shop as there is shortage of such professionals. If the Pharmacy Council can provide sufficient number of registered pharmacists to every shop, we are ready to sack all the non-pharmacist salesmen from our shops. The number of registered pharmacists in Kerala is below fifty thousand, out of this, about 7000 people are graduates in pharmacy, who will not work in medical shops as sales man. The total number of salesmen in medical shops come around more than one lakh,” said Sanal.
Pointing out several lacunae in the acts and rules, Sanal said as per the existing rules, the wholesalers do not need to appoint pharmacists. In one way or other, the wholesalers are also doing drug business. Their store is also the premises where drugs are stocked. But no pharmacist’s supervision is there. If retailers should appoint registered pharmacists, why do the wholesalers not? The Act needs to be amended in this case.
The government as well as the Pharmacy Council should study the situation of the retail sector and solve the myriad problems existing there. Afterwards only, they can go for modernisation and reforms, RCF chief said.
Meanwhile, the State Pharmacy Council has stopped inspections for the time being. Council president B Rajan said the inspection will continue as the inspectors are appointed on part-time basis. They will conduct inspections on their convenience.
While responding to the issue, AKCDA president, AN Mohan said they will hold the protest march on August 19 in front of the Council office and hold one day strike. AKCDA plans to take up the issue in the national level demanding withdrawal of Pharmacy Practice Regulations.