The Commissioner for Health in Ekiti State, Dr Moji Yaya-Kolade, on Monday lamented the division among pharmacists and other health workers in Ekiti State and indeed, Nigeria, saying that such would slow down the attainment of their common goal.
Yaya-Kolade called on pharmacists and medical doctors to work together as a team aiming a common goal, which she described as “providing quality health care services to the people”.
The commissioner, who spoke in Ado Ekiti when the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Ekiti State Chapter, led by its president, Sola Ojo, paid her a courtesy visit, noted that the Kayode Fayemi administration was ready to address the shortage of pharmacists in the state health facilities.
She said, “The government is not unaware of the shortage of pharmacists in the state. So we have been charged with the responsibility of assessing the real needs of the people in the state. Soon the Ministry of Health will make an economic analysis of personnel in the state to ascertain gaps and needs.
“I want us to work cooperatively. There is too much division between pharmacists and medical profession. We are one, pharmacy can’t exist without medical profession and medical profession can’t exist without pharmacy. When we fight a unified course, then we progress the more.
“Pharmacy is a profession that I’m proud of because I’m a registered pharmacist and I see it as my primary profession. I enjoy being a pharmacist,” she said.
The PSN president, Ojo, urged the state government to implement the CONHESS 15 for pharmacists in Ekiti State to allow them get to the peak of their career like their colleagues in other states of the federation.
Ojo, who pledged the support of PSN to the Fayemi administration for better healthcare service delivery, lauded the appointment of a professional and trained pharmacist to man the Ministry of Health.
