With an aim to promote patient safety by ensuring presence of pharmacists in healthcare delivery of the state, the Maharashtra Registered Pharmacists Association (MRPA) has demanded the implementation of Pharmacy Practice Regulations (PPR) 2015, and filling up of pharmacists' posts lying vacant in all the state healthcare facilities.

MRPA submitted a memorandum to Maharashtra medical education minister Girish Mahajan in this regard as the minister heads Medical Education and Drugs Department governing Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) which is responsible for implementation of PPR 2015. We have been appealing to MSPC to execute PPR 2015 for the last two years but nothing has been done so far, said president of MRPA Kailas Tandale.

Besides this, MRPA also demanded compliance of DCGI notification making it mandatory for pharma companies to appoint pharmacists at manufacturing facilities by January 1, 2017 for quality assurance and regulatory compliance for pharmaceutical products. The notification was issued by DCGI four months back.

MRPA also criticised the Union health ministry's positive approach towards providing skill training to those working at pharmacies for more than five years to make them eligible for drug distribution at par with pharmacists. The association in a memorandum to the Union health ministry appealed to it to scrap the initiative.

There are 2 lakhs registered pharmacists in Maharashtra and of them, 1.5 lakh pharmacists are unemployed. Every year 21,000 pharmacy students pass out. The health ministry's move will further increase their unemployment rate. Allowing unqualified persons to dispense drugs will jeopardize public health and it is violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, which makes it mandatory for every drug retail store in India to have pharmacists, said president of the association.

The pharmacists' association also demanded removal of Jagannath Shinde, president of AIOCD from PCI and MSPC for putting forward proposal to the health ministry asking it to provide skill training to unqualified people to make them capable of selling drugs like pharmacists. Shinde was appointed by the state government as nominated member to PCI and MSPC.

There are 2000 pharmacist posts lying vacant at primary health centres, sub centres, and district hospitals of Maharashtra. The state government has not yet initiated steps to fill up the vacant posts. The absence of pharmacists at primary health centres, sub centres is taking its toll on healthcare of local people. A total of 35 people died of medication error in the state over the last couple of years. ASHA and ANM workers are handling drug distribution at primary health centres and sub centres instead of pharmacists, said Tandale.

MRPA had held demonstration at Azad Madain ground in support of their demands on December 22 and subsequently submitted a memorandum of their demands to the state medical education minister. The minister has assured us that he will look into our demands. If the government fails to meet our demands, we will conduct massive protest in front of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha during assembly session in March, 2017, he informed.