Govt hospitals lack pharmacists, not fulfills WHO’s standard’

LAHORE, Sep 15 (APP):Government hospitals across the country lacked the required number of pharmacists as per the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of one for 15 beds to provide proper healthcare to patients, Drugs Lawyers Forum President Dr Noor Mahar said on Sunday.

The Punjab government, he said, had issued a notification in October 2012 to fill all vacant posts of pharmacists in the provincial hospitals. However, a number of such posts were still lying vacant even in the Lahore city, he said while talking to APP.

He said some years back, the WHO’s standard was one pharmacist for 50 beds. However, due to sharp increase in population and consequently increasing patients burden on hospitals, the health body had to revise the standard and fix the number of 15 beds for one pharmacist.