Public demands qualified, experienced staff to hire in medical stores: Report
ISLAMABAD, Mar 29 (APP): The general public has demanded of the concerned authorities to take strict measures to check all the medical stores and force its owners to hire qualified, responsible and sensible staff for dealing with masses especially amid coronavirus outbreak scenario as they were dealing directly with the human life.
According to a report aired on a TV channel, it said although, there is an acute dearth of skilled workers in every sphere of life, unfortunately, the health-related facilities were of no exception. As most of the medical stores and pharmacy centers were run by less educated and inexperienced workforce hired by the owners to save much money.
Similarly, most of the medical stores in the twin cities were running by the young and illiterate workers who had no knowledge of medicine and the majority of them even cannot read the doctor’s prescriptions properly, it said.
During the crucial hours of the Covid-19 pandemic when the masses are under nervous pressure these workers double the troubles of patients, complained of an old woman Samrina Tahir a resident of federal capital while talking to this scribe of APP.
She visited a medical store in Sitara market a couple of days ago to purchase vitamin supplements and sanitary pads but the storekeeper was completely clueless to fulfill her demand.
A senior citizen Qismat Khan of the same area said many of the medical stores had employed young workers who were unable to read the writing of doctors and they deceive the senior citizens.
Master Abdullah a resident of Rawalpindi and tailor by profession said, he was illiterate and could not read the doctor’s prescription so relied upon the pharmacy boy to provide the prescribed medicine but every time the boy put aside his request and gave him alternative medicines which may not suit the one prescribed by the doctor.
The public, therefore, demanded of the concerned pharmacy or medical stores to employ the persons with at least prerequisite knowledge of medicines to deal with the buyers’ demands diligently, Hassan Raza a resident of Rawalpindi suggested.
He further recalled a few years back practice when it was mandatory to hire qualified and trained workers having proper medical certificates of training to work on medical shops but now this practice is no more followed and none of the authorities bothered to check or ask the owner for trained and qualified staff to hire.
”And now people with absolutely no knowledge are running the businesses of life-saving drugs which could play havoc with patients’ lives in this critical hour,” Dr. Shoaib a child specialist at a Cantonment Hospital Rawalpindi stated.
A single mistake or negligence on their part could risk the life of any patient, he further said.
