– As PCN reveals plans to combat counterfeits
As pharmacists in Nigeria join the global community in celebrating World Pharmacists’ Day 2023, the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Prof. Cyril Usifoh, has tasked pharmacists on the essence of bringing their professionalism to bare in averting medication errors, which has sent many to their early graves.
He said pharmacists have the robust system and capacity to bridge the gap in the current wave of negligence in healthcare delivery, by ensuring due diligence in pharmacovigilance, while prioritising patients best outcomes in every prescription during hospital ward rounds.
The Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, urged his colleagues in the hospitals to insist on participating in ward rounds, which should be a team work of all healthcare practitioners for the survival of patients, as each healthcare professional in the team, has his or her unique role to patients.
He spoke with Pharmanewsonline on the heels of recurring medical negligence in the Nigerian healthcare system, which have seen medical doctors trading blames over avoidable deaths of patients.
This comes as the Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Pharm. Babashehu Ahmed, revealed the agency's plans in collaborating with security agencies in ridding the nation of illicit drugs circulation.
Ahmed who spoke with our correspondent on the occasion of the World Pharmacists Day 2023, with the theme as “Pharmacists strengthening healthcare systems” acknowledged the limited capacity of the PCN in getting to all nooks and crannies of the country, but he assured of their partnership with security agencies, which according to him will go along way in curbing the menace.
“We are approaching the task from the point of effective networking with Security agencies and other regulatory agencies”, said Ahmed.
The PSN President further urged pharmacists in the hospitals to cultivate the habit of making inquiry into causes of patients’ death, as well as requesting for relevant documents such as the Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) report, which are tools that will enhance the performance of their roles in bridging the gap in avoidable deaths.
According to him ”Participation in hospital ward rounds is not for show of superiority, it is to ensure patients’ safety and best outcomes.
“Pharmacists must hospital board meetings, ask questions into the causes of death of patients, request for proper documentation of medical errors, in order to avert future reoccurrence”.
Prof. Usifoh also noted the essence of pharmacists engagement at the primary healthcare level, saying it is necessary in handling ordinary cases that wouldn’t need referral to the secondary level, while pharmacists play crucial roles in healthcare advocacy and promotion at that level .
