The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, or PCN, has closed 501 medicine shop and arrested two individuals in the Jos-Bukuru metropolitan for a variety of crimes, including engaging in clinical procedures, selling drugs in open markets, and operating illegally.
Speaking with journalists in Jos, pharmacist Stephen Esumobi, the PCN Director of Enforcement, bemoaned the inadequate management of medications, pointing out that some are kept in unsanitary locations such as private residences and clothing stores, necessitating the need to sanitise pharmacies (501 medicine shop).
“Ensuring the rational distribution and dispensing of medicines that are safe, effective, and of good quality at all levels of the Nigerian healthcare delivery system is one of our core mandates,” he said.
“Medications must retain their physico-chemical and therapeutic qualities as they go from the producer or importer through the many stages of the distribution chain to the end consumers in order to get the best possible therapeutic results. “The sale of medicines in open markets and other unregistered locations is one of the major factors affecting the quality of medicines in the medicine supply chain in Plateau State and other parts of Nigeria.
” He continued, “The PCN enforcement team was in the State in 2022, and while compliance directives were issued, several premises were sealed. However, information obtained by our surveillance team suggests that some premises have not yet taken action to comply, and new illegal outlets are opening up in a number of locations.”
The Enforcement team visited locations in the State’s capital and surrounding areas between May 13 and 16, 2024. Upon completion of the exercise, 701 locations were inspected, including 167 pharmacies, 224 stores selling patent medications, and 310 unlicensed locations. Five hundred and fifty premises were sealed (501 medicine shop).
74 pharmacies, 117 patent medicine stores, and 310 illicit pharmaceutical stores are among the locations that have been sealed. They were sealed due to a variety of infractions, including the selling of drugs in open markets, operating without PCN registration, failing to renew premises certificates, allowing non-pharmacists to access and dispense controlled substances, and stocking and selling drugs above the approved list for patent medicine vendors.
501 medicine shop
“Among other things, poor documentation, inadequate storage facilities, stocking ethical products without a chemist’s supervision, clinical practices, and 14 compliance directives were issued.” In order to effectively carry out our regulatory role and guarantee that Nigerians always have access to safe, effective, and high-quality medications, we are fortifying our State and Zonal offices (501 medicine shop).
Source: vanguardngr.com
