The patients across the State faced problems due to one-day mass work boycott call given by the Government pharmacists on Tuesday. In support of their demands, the diploma pharmacists are on path of agitation from many days. On the call of the Diploma Pharmacists Association’ (DPA), the pharmacists working in all the Government hospitals of the State took a day’s mass leave on Tuesday.
The mass leave severely hampered the health services of State as medicine distribution counters of all the Government hospitals remain closed for the day. In Doon hospital, which is the biggest hospital of the State, all the medicine distribution counters were closed. The patients were forced to procure medicines from the private medicine shops outside the hospital campus. The emergency services however remained unaffected by the work boycott call.
Surendra Pant, a resident of Mehuwala, said that he had to purchase medicines from outside the hospital due to the strike. He said the State Government should have alternative arrangements to distribute medicines in the hospitals. The patients in the health centres located in mountainous areas of the state faced more problems are pharmacists provide medical services in absence of doctors there.
The pharmacists staged a protest meeting outside the office of Director General (DG) Health Services. The president of the DPA, BS Kaluda said that issue of cadre restructuring is pending since creation of the State.
He said the allotment of pharmacists in the hospitals is also not proper and needs immediate review. There are 1,260 posts of pharmacists in the State; the association is of the view that the due to increased work load the State Government should increase the posts of pharmacists in the health services.
The association is also demanding that pharmacists should get inaccessible area allowance and chief pharmacists should get patient care allowance like in Central Government. The agitation of the pharmacists affected the health services of the State in most of the Government hospitals on Monday.
Kaluda told The Pioneer that it is unfortunate that no one from the Government has contacted the association till date. He threatened the association would go on indefinite strike from June 1, if their demands are not accepted.