Shortage of pharmacists to be rectified soon

Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana has instructed relevant authorities to take immediate measures to address the shortage of pharmacists currently prevailing in the country.

The Minister also instructed the officials to discuss with the Finance Ministry to accelerate the recruitment process of new pharmacists.

A special discussion between Minister Dr. Pathirana and the officers of the Society of Government Pharmacists (SGP) was held yesterday at the Ministry of Health.

Minister Dr. Pathirana discussed the recruitment of graduate pharmacists to the health service and the establishment of the Pharmacists’ Council, as well as the future work on the reviews of the 2020/2025 drug policy.

During the meeting, the members of the SGP informed the Minister about certain issues faced by the pharmacists which includes the recruitment of graduates as pharmacists to the health service, filling the vacancies, problems faced by the Medical Supply Division (MSD) pharmacists, continued delay in the appointment of pharmacists who have completed their studies, deficiencies in the data system and the current drug management system ‘Swastha’.

The Health Minister drew attention to the shortcomings of the Swastha system, and after discussing it at length, the officials were instructed to rectify the existing shortcomings as soon as possible.

After the discussion, President of the Government Pharmacists Association, Thushara Ranadeva said that the discussion held with the Health Minister was overall positive.

A group of officials from the Ministry of Health and Government Pharmacists’ Association including the Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena attended the meeting.

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