THE Kwara state branch of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has urged the state government to declare emergency in its health sector until a reasonable number of pharmacists have been employed into the state's owned 30 healthcare facilities.

At present, 10 pharmacists are in the payroll of the state government and among the 10, two are due for retirement within the next one year.

Responding, Senior Special Assistant to the state Governor, Dr. Muideen Akorede said the development would be promptly addressed by the newly-constituted Hospitals Management Board HMB), "according to the needs of each of the health facilities. It is a systematic arrangement based on the available resources and I believe it will soon be the turn of the pharmacists."

State PSN chairman, Pharmacist Olayiwola Francis, yesterday in Ilorin at the grand finale of the one-week anniversary of the association, said "no health care system could thrive without the full involvement of pharmacists."

Speaking on the theme: "Better Practice Healthier Communities," Francis said, "We are using this medium to call on the state government of Kwara to expedite action in provision of quality staffing in the Pharmacy sector of the state's government health facilities.

"The current situation of having more than 30 big healthcare facilities with less than 10 pharmacists is highly risky to the health of the populace. Even out of the 10 pharmacists, one of them will be retiring by December this year while another one will retire sometimes next year."

He urged the proprietors of private hospitals in the state not to abuse the statutory privileges which allow them to stock few emergency drugs by increasing the stock beyond the level allowed without the employment of pharmacists to dispense such drugs.

Speaking on the imperative of the theme of the programme, he said it was coined to suit the agitation of the PSN at equipping its members to be more active participant in the healthcare sector of Nigeria.

Among other functions of the Pharmacists, he said, the association had embarked on training and re training of its members in such areas as proper drug counselling, proper dosing of drugs and proper access of other health staff to the unbiased information on drugs.

Francis, while making a difference between herbal medicine and traditional medicine gave kudos to Ghana for its enlightenment campaigns on herbal medicine, "which is the root of all drugs anywhere in the world."