COIMBATORE: Due to the absence of adequate pharmacists at the Coimbatore District Headquarters hospital in Pollachi, patients were made to wait for over an hour to get medicines, resulting in a huge crowd that gathered in front of the hospital on Monday morning.
Patients demanded that an additional number of pharmacists be appointed to manage the workload as it directly affects the public.
"I came to the hospital at 8.30 am for treatment. The doctor consultation was done within 30 minutes but I had to wait for another 40 minutes to get medicines," said M Kamatchi from Suleshwaranpatti.
She said many people, mostly employees at the government and private sectors, who have to go to work before 10 am, face a lot of hurdles in accessing the pharmacies inside the Pollachi GH. They said they cannot go to work for a whole day, even if they visit the hospital for simple health issues.
R Vellai Nataraj, a Pollachi-based social activist and member of the Healthcare Beneficiaries Welfare Committee at the District Headquarters Hospital in Pollachi, said that filling the vacancies of pharmacists was a long-standing demand which is not yet addressed.
The strength of pharmacists in this hospital has been kept at four (three chief pharmacists and a pharmacist) before 2010, when it was a Taluk hospital. Even after the upgradation to the district headquarters hospital the pharmacists' strength remains the same. Usually, two pharmacists attend postmortem procedures. If there is an autopsy scheduled, the situation at the pharmacy becomes more difficult to handle," Nataraj said.
The pharmacy is located on the backside of the New building (Outpatient ward) where six counters have been set up to distribute the medicines. The pharmacy has to run around the clock. But due to the manpower shortage, it is being operated on two shifts -- 8 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 7 pm.
Nataraj said that the pharmacy at Pollachi GH should be operated with a manpower of 14 pharmacists, but now it is struggling with one-third of the sanctioned strength.
"The hospital treats around 1,500 outpatients in a day. Dispensing medicines is a significant task and attention. Dumping the workload on the available minimum strength may lead to mistakes. So, the government should appoint additional pharmacists to the GH to deliver better health care," he added. When asked, a senior official from the health department said that most of the GHs across the state run out of staff strength and they are continuing efforts to get manpower.