The Drugs Control Department in Tamil Nadu has chalked out a programme, for the first time in the history of the department, to provide a one-week training in Drug Regulation and Pharmaceutical Management to the newly recruited drug inspectors.

The training programme is intended to equip them to become competent in discharging their duties and to kick a good start in their career, said M Bhaskaran, the director of Drugs Control Administration. He said this is part of certain initiatives taken with regard to strengthening the department and enlightening the staff from the beginning of their profession.

The government has appointed 23 new drug inspectors in the beginning of this year. After the training programme they will be posted in various parts of the state. This is the first time the state government is giving professional training to newly recruited drug inspectors, Bhaskaran told Pharmabiz.

The thrust areas of the programme include awareness of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, Evidence Act, CrPC, RTI Act, DPCO, training on Blood Banking and Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act.

As part of the program the trainees will be taken to pharmacy shops, pharma manufacturing companies and blood banks.

Besides departmental staff, the trainers include, leading academicians of pharmacy colleges, retired drug controllers and specialized officers from police department.

The appointment of a group of drugs inspectors takes place after a period of ten years. All the recruits are graduates and post graduates in pharmacy. The last appointment was held in the year 1999. Some of them are having Ph D also. However, there are still vacancies of drug inspectors existing in various parts of the state.

According to sources in the health ministry, it is vigorously thinking to speed up the procedures to fill up the vacancies of pharmacists in the health department. Many hospitals and clinical centres in the state are facing shortage of pharmacists.