The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH), Mr Thomas Boateng Appiagyei, has urged the government to resolve the impasse between pharmacists who work in government establishments and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), over placement of pharmacists on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
He said in spite of the critical role members of the association who worked in government hospitals played in the healthcare system, the FWSC had failed to properly migrate them onto the SSSS, nearly five years after the implementation of the pay policy began.
Mr Appiagyei made the call at a public forum in Accra Friday to mark the celebration of this year’s World Pharmacists Day.
The World Pharmacists Day is marked on September 25, every year, to draw attention to the role of the pharmacist in improving health.
Mr Appiagyei said the current dispute over the placement of pharmacists on the SSSS, created the impression that pharmacists were not being taken seriously.
PSGH ready to partner NHIS
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr Appiagyei said the PSGH was willing and ready to partner the service to ensure its growth and sustainability, adding, “Our commitment to this cause has not wavered as medicines and their cost remain a central feature of the scheme.”
He said the PSGH was also determined to join hands with key stakeholders to place pharmacy in its rightful place in the healthcare system.
Mr Appiagyei said the intervention of pharmacists had brought and could further bring about huge savings to patients and health budgets globally.
He said the availability of medicines should go hand in hand with pharmaceutical expertise or pharmacists and added that the partnership was essential to the responsible use of medicines.
Citing the example of India and China, he said there was some direct correlation between national development and a viable pharmaceutical industry.
Mr Appiagyei said every day, three million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists around the world acted as partners to patients, other healthcare professionals and other scientists, throughout the whole supply chain with the shared vision of better health care.
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