Accra, April 26, GNA - Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, Deputy Minister of Health on Thursday said the Ministry was working hard to solve the problem of delays in appointment of pharmacists into the public sector. " This is a serious concern to the Ministry, and I would like to assure you that the ministry will see to the removal of all bottlenecks and ensure prompt employment and placement of all eligible pharmacists especially in the districts where their services are most needed", he added.

Mr Owusu-Agyei who was speaking at an induction ceremony for 150 newly qualified pharmacists under the theme: "Ask Your Pharmacists" in Accra, said the ministry recognized the important contribution they were making towards the development of the country and assured them that increase in remunerations and better service conditions for pharmacists were high on the agenda of government.

"I would assure you that the Ministry would do all it can to ensure that there is equity in rewarding all health professionals, including pharmacists for the invaluable roles they are playing in the health sector," he said.

Mr. Owusu-Agyei said one major concern was the lack of professional services in the rural areas where quality health care delivery was most needed, adding that it was typical with the provision of pharmaceutical services where rural dwellers were left at the mercy of drug peddlers and quacks.

He said this led to the introduction of the District Pharmacy Concept in the 1990s being implemented by the Pharmacy Council to address the imbalances in pharmaceutical services. He said this had improved significantly, the provision of quality health care, and urged the council to marshal all its efforts to make the programme succeed.

Mr Owusu-Agyei noted that the Ministry placed importance on quality health delivery and professional development and called on all stakeholders involved in the preparatory work towards the establishment of the Ghana Post Graduate College of Pharmacy to contact the MOH for the needed assistance.

Mr Harrison Kofi Abutiate, Chairman of the Pharmacy Council called on the newly inducted pharmacists to uphold their dignity through diligence and hard work.

He said the country required competent professionals and experts to solve the challenges of the time and therefore called on them to seek knowledge through research to find solutions to problems. Mr Abutiate noted that pharmacists were among the versatile and accessible healthcare professionals and called on the new pharmacists to provide knowledge-based services to ensure optimal satisfaction to patients.

He noted that there were too many non-pharmacists doing the work of pharmacists in both private and the public sector and warned that the "Council would like pharmacists to occupy the positions for pharmacists."

Mr. Joseph Nsiah Nyoagbe, Registrar of the Council said the theme was chosen to showcase the important and critical role they played in the health delivery system and that the Council was re-branding itself to make it more responsive to the needs of the public. He said Consumer empowerment was another novel regulatory strategy the council had adopted to educate the public and consumers to enable them make informed decisions about their medications. "We need to protect the general public and consumers from manipulations of quacks and charlatans".

Mr Nyoagbe noted that the council was again restructuring the District Pharmacy Concept to come upstream to enable deprived communities in Ghana to have access to medicines. He said the council would continue to work with the ministry and its agencies to ensure that programmes and policies were harmonized and coordinated to ensure the realization of better health status among the populace.

Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, Chief Executive Officer of KAMA Group of Companies called on the pharmacists to know that everything counted in their work adding, "Your successes or failures are based on the decisions you make today".

He said the dynamics of the world required that they live responsible lives and work in accordance with the code of ethics of their profession.

Dr Addo called on them to learn new skills to enable them to do other businesses aside their careers.

He urged them to exhibit patience, understanding and tolerance in their daily activities, as it was the only way to their career development.