Failure of Tamil Nadu government in recruiting adequate number of pharmacists is seriously hitting the functioning of a large number of rural, taluk and district level hospitals in the state. Unless, immediate steps are taken to induct sufficient number of pharmacists soon, the work in the pharmacies would come to a standstill.

P Ram Raj, president of Tamil Nadu Government Pharmacists Association (TNGPA) said there are a total of 255 vacancies of pharmacists in the institutions under the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, Directorate of Public Health and Directorate of Medical Education. In addition to this, there are 375 mobile hospital units working in the state where there is no post of pharmacist so far. There are also vacancies of pharmacy staff in the newly established medical colleges.

The Tamil Nadu State Unemployed Pharmacist Association said they made a representation to the government to fill the existing vacancies of 106 pharmacists in DMRHS, 105 positions in various hospitals under DPH and 44 vacancies under DME. The pharmacist's vacancies are filled from the list of registration at the employment offices based on seniority at district level.

Dr V Ravichandran, president of the Indian Pharmacists Association said the state government should take steps to fill up the vacancies without any more delay. In some districts in the state certain unemployed pharmacists have approached the court challenging some appointments made by the district authorities on the issue of seniority.

Dr Ravichandran said if the government appoints pharmacy staffs according to the stipulated ratio of patients and pharmacists more than ten thousand posts have to be created in the state as it is one pharmacist is required for every ten in-patients and one pharmacist for every 125 out-patients in a hospital. He said the doctor-patient ratio is one doctor for 150 outpatients. He added that in Tamil Nadu the number of outpatients visiting all the government hospitals every day is more than 18 lakh.

According to sources in Government Pharmacist Association, the government should think of implementing an eight-hour work schedule for the pharmacists and restrict new private pharmacy colleges offering diploma courses. Whereas, the private pharmacists wanted the government must allow qualified pharmacists to run medical stores.

The TNGPA members said the shortage of pharmacists in the hospitals has weakened the effective functioning of pharmacies in hospitals. They have also urged the government to create a post of pharmacist in each district to handle the government warehouse for medicines and surgical instruments.