The Lagos State branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has publicly declared the beginning of her 2016 annual Pharmacy Week, themed:” Human resource and pharmacy practice: Leadership in turbulent times”.
The event, which is bid to take off from August 6 to 13, 2016, will feature various activities from the different technical arms and interest groups of the society.
Addressing pressmen on the essence of the Week, the state’s chairman, Gbenga Olubowale explained that it is an enlightenment programme geared towards sustaining and improving the health values of the general populace at all times. He further noted that the annual event serves as a forum for educating and enlightening pharmacists, health professionals, government and the general public on issues pertaining to health.
Olubowale, who highlighted the sub-themes of this year’s event to include: Repositioning pharmacy practice in a challenging economy; and dealing with the scourge of adverse drug reaction, stated that the themes will discuss in details the issues of man power development in pharmacy practice as well as challenge pharmacists to provide needed leadership in their various areas of practice, in such trying times the nation is going through.
His words: “The impact of the Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) on patients has again come into the forefront with recent development of Steven Jones Syndrome (SJS) among some users of c certain types of medication. It is a serious challenge as morbidity and mortality with the ADR is quite high.
“We need to educate the public about how to identify symptoms of ADR and appropriate report mechanism put in place to manage the situation to prevent unpleasant end result as recently being observed”.
Pharm. Madehin Gafar, secretary of the state branch, while fielding questions from journalists said that the Week will focus on access to pharmacists, who serve as important interface between the populace and their drugs usage.
He also explained why the masses need to consult their pharmacists regularly, in the wake of myriads of concoctions being displayed everywhere as herbal drugs, which are capable of destroying people’s kidneys.
