Sixteen out of 23 hospitals in the Northern Region, representing 70%, have no pharmacists.

A situation accounting for a high factor to irrational use of medicine in the country, the President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Ghana (PSGH), Mr. James Ohemeng-Kyei, has revealed.

He stated that only a pharmacist had the necessary training and capacity to offer pharmaceutical care, and therefore called on the Ministry of Health to ensure that adequate number of pharmacists was deployed to that area.

He made this known at the week-long Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the PSGH, which was opened in Cape Coast on Wednesday under the theme: “Rational Use of Medicine: A Key to Quality Health”.

Mr. Ohemeng-Kyei was worried that the absence of pharmacists in the country’s hospitals would further compound the irrational use of medicines and charged the professionals to desist from engaging non-professionals in the sale of drugs.

Dr. Tim Reed, Executive Director of Health Action International (HAI), who was also a guest speaker at the function, added that the irrational use of medicines brought about waste of scarce health resources and damage to health.

He also reiterated calls to pharmacists to stop engaging non-professionals in the sale and dispensing of drugs.