The Ministry of Health has instructed the Heads of Pharmacy Units in all public health facilities to be at post to make sure that the units are run as pharmacists are on strike.
This comes after members of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) declared an indefinite strike over their grade structure and placement in public health facilities.
The Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Tony Goodman, told Citi News that the head of pharmacy units are always supposed to be at post.
“We’ve gotten some indications that some facilities are not dispensing drugs and people have to go out to buy their own drugs. We thought it wise to let the directive go to our managers that as a manager, you are part of management and not supposed to leave the facility, you should be there to dispense drugs,” he said.
Tony Goodman also directed that hospitals make sure that their pharmacies are running.
“There are other workers who do not belong to this group and are ready to work, the managers should be able to supervise these ones as they dispense medication out to patients. We are telling hospitals to make sure that their pharmacies are run, the heads of those pharmacies should be at post and make sure that other pharmacists who will be around dispense drugs.”
Pharmacists strike over ‘unfair’premiums
According to GHOSPA, the strike was necessitated by the continuous breakdown of negotiations over its grade structure and placement in public health facilities.
The association went on strike in August 2015 over the same unresolved issues with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) over conversion differences after the migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure.
Government has, however, told GHOSPA that it will not be able to heed to its [GHOSPA] demands this year because there is no budget for that.
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