Today, the world celebrates pharmacists who spend most of the day on their feet as they provide services to communities across the globe.
Gauteng department of health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said these heroes need to be celebrated and recognised.
“This day focuses on the role pharmacists play in improving health on a global scale,” she said.
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) established World Pharmacists Day in 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. They chose September 25 because the FIP was founded on this day in 1912.
Kekana said pharmacists are not just people behind the counter who file and process prescriptions.
“Pharmacists work long hours, usually standing the entire time dispensing pills and providing advice on medications and administering immunisations,” said Kekana.
Kekana said one of the most vital roles of pharmacists is to conduct research, discover and test new medications. “No matter what capacity pharmacists work in, they are considered medicine experts.”
Pharmacy manager at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital Abiola Animashahun said the pharmaceutical department in the hospital worked tirelessly during the global outbreak of Covid-19.
“We had to order more medical supplies and create more storage space for prescriptions and all emergency medicine,” she said.
Animashahun said she started working at the hospital in 2002. She said pharmacists have a better understanding of medicine and the side effects.
“I know which dose is good for a patient and I know when the doctor might have given too little or too much to a patient.”
She said after the president announced the national lockdown, all health workers and pharmacists were swamped by a rush of patients and ordinary public members seeking medications to prevent Covid-19.
“We had a backlog of about two months but we pushed and introduced a central chronic medicine dispensary and distribution programme that dealt directly will prescriptions for chronic patients.
“We had to order more medication outside the country and extended prescriptions for patients by six to nine months to ensure social distancing.”
The senior pharmacist said the hospital saw between 1,800 to 2,000 patients each day.
She said though the government did not do much to recognise and support pharmacists, the private sector gave them personal protective equipment and masks all the time.
“We got food parcels, chocolates and flowers to keep our spirits high and we got compliments and recognition from other supporting departments.”
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital spokesperson Nkosiyethu Mazibuko said Pharmacy Month (September) meant more interaction between pharmacy staff and patients according to a theme set by the SA Pharmacy Council each year.
“In the middle of a pandemic like the situation is at the moment, this may be hampered due to pandemic protocols. The significance of the day means recognising the efforts of all pharmacy staff in providing much-needed pharmaceutical services to patients,” said Mazibuko.
He said there were 15 wards classified as Covid-19 wards at different times during the lockdown and all were supplied with requested medication for management of their patients.
Mazibuko said the pharmacy at the hospital serves between 50,000 to 60,000 patients monthly.
The pharmaceutical industry holds a variety of educational activities for World Pharmacists Day.
These include lectures, exhibitions, and activities that demonstrate how pharmacies help adults and children.
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