COIMBATORE: Pharmacists working in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) have raised concerns over their workload stating the staff strength has not been increased for nearly three decades in line with the increase in number of people visiting the facility.
They say a proposal was sent a few months ago to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME) requesting the sanctioning of 10 more pharmacists and 3 chief pharmacists to manage the workload. However, no action has been taken yet. Due to shortage of staff, pharmacists say they have to forgo their weekly off and when some take emergency leave, the additional workload falls on them.
CMCH is an important facility for health care services to people in western region. It has 14 pharmacies including one that is open on a 24x7 basis.
However, the hospital is struggling to manage the work of dispensing medicines because of staff shortage.
Currently, there are 24 pharmacists and two chief pharmacists who dispense medications to patients across more than 40 departments serving over 4,500 outpatients daily. Each pharmacy has one pharmacist who works from 7 am to 1 pm. The hospital’s 24-hour pharmacy employs three pharmacists who work on a shift basis. The remaining pharmacists are assigned to medical stores, which supply medications to both the pharmacies and inpatient wards.
A woman pharmacist said, “Approximately 5,000 people, including patients, visit the pharmacies daily. A certain percentage of patients obtain medicines from at least three pharmacies based on the treatments they underwent. Due to insufficient manpower, we manage the workload with the limited number of pharmacists available without taking any leave.”
K A Pasupathy, Tamil Nadu Government All Pharmacists Association state secretary, said the posts of 24 pharmacists and three chief pharmacists were created 30 years ago and there has been no increase in allocation since then. The Medical Council of India recommends that the number of pharmacists be increased based on patient footfall. However, it is not adhered to by the officials here in the hospital.”
He added, “As per the guidelines of the Medical Council of India, the allocation of pharmacist and chief pharmacist positions is based on the number of patients visiting the hospital. For every 100 beds in a GH or Medical College Hospital, a chief pharmacist position should be created, with additional staff allocated when the bed capacity increases. Similarly, pharmacist positions are increased based on the number of outpatients, with each pharmacist assigned to handle 150 patients.
However, at CMCH, each pharmacist is forced to manage at least 450 patients daily. This situation forces one staff member to handle various works, including medicine management, sorting, packing in an envelope and providing the necessary explanation to patients. In the medical stores, one chief pharmacist and three pharmacists are responsible for dispensing medications to approximately 1,350 inpatients across 58 wards daily. Dispensing the correct medication is an important task. But we are forced to work under pressure due to the manpower shortage.”
An official from the hospital confirmed that a proposal was sent to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research requesting additional personnel 10 pharmacists and three chief pharmacists. When asked, Dean A Nirmala said they are managing the work with the available manpower. If there is an additional manpower the workf low would be easy, she said.