Taken for granted, the pharmacist community is no longer willing to be ignored. The Indian Pharmacist Association (IPA) has written to Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister highlighting various issues impacting pharmacists and recommending solutions.
According to Bhupendra Kumar, Secretary General, IPA, despite regular representations and follow up with several sections of Government at the centre, nothing significant has been achieved with respect to the various issues raised by the pharmacist association, which claims to represent more than 27,000 pharmacists in India.
IPA has mentioned many issues in its letter dated July 10, 2014 that which concern pharmacists. Pharmacists are the lowest paid health professionals though they are well qualified with some members gaining a doctorate in pharmacy. IPA has therefore demanded that pharmacists should get minimum pay equivalent to that of a primary teacher or a less qualified junior engineer.
The letter also draws attention to the fact that the IPA has been against the launch of the BSc community health programme, as this will further aggravate the condition of the pharmacist. One of the demands of IPA was that the part time upgradation course from IGNOU should be started for pharmacists. According to IPA, the pharmacy profession is losing its charm and as a result most of the seats in pharmacy colleges are lying vacant.
EP News Bureau– Mumbai
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