Prescribed out

KOCHI:   I S Scenario -1
It was around 9 pm when Smriti took her 10-year-old daughter shivering with fever to a private practitioner near her house. After the doctor checked the child and prescribed the medicine, Smriti began her search for a medical store. Alas, it took her some time to find one and that too nearly five kilometres from her place. 

Scenario - 2
Rohit was suffering from a severe allergic reaction and was admitted to a hospital in the city. Since the medicine needed for his treatment was not available at the hospital pharmacy, the doctor asked his father to get from a medical store. The time was around 8:30 pm. Rohit’s father had to call up various medical shops before he could find one open some kilometres away.

These are a few cases. According to many city residents, once the clock strikes 9 in the night it becomes difficult to find an open medical store. Even hospitals which keep their pharmacies open throughout the night refuse to help out if the drug has been prescribed by a doctor who is not on their rolls. The situation becomes very dire if a first time visitor to the city falls ill.  

According to P V Tomy, president, All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association, Ernakulam, there are no rules that require the medical stores to remain open for 24 hours. “Many stores down their shutters after a particular time because running a 24-hour shop means employing an additional staff. Shifts will have to be arranged and salaries paid. All this doesn’t sound profitable since sales don’t happen much in the night. The money that comes in goes directly into maintaining the shop,” he said. So, only a very few shops remain open into the late hours, he added.

Tomy said he, however, does his best whenever people call him up in the night seeking medicines. “People get my number from the website of my shop and approach me over the phone for medicines. I try my best to help them out,” he said.Nearly all emergency pharmacies at the hospitals have medicines required to treat patients being admitted in the Casualty, said Tomy. “Only hospitals which are out of stock of a particular medicine ask the bystanders to get it from the outside. These medicines are usually available at the medical stores near the hospitals. Only in rare cases the people have been forced to go in search of other stores,” he said. 

The decision to apply for a 24-hour license depends solely on the medical store owner. “But it doesn’t mandate a time frame. Security is also another factor which makes owners close their stores early. Drug abusers often come at night and demand over the counter medicines. Nearly all the medicines kept in a medical store have components that can lead to addiction. When we refuse to comply, these drug abusers become violent or file fraudulent complaints with the drug department. A shop usually has only a single person manning the counter in the night. Hence, the risk of an attack is huge,” Tomy said. According to Balasubrahmaniyam, Health Officer in Charge, Cochin Corporation, there are no stipulations as such. The only things a person needs to comply with before opening a medical store are appropriate space and certified pharmacists as staff. 

“Medical shops are private entities and at the end of the day a business. We can’t ask them to function overnight when we know they will only get moderate sales during the period,” said Balasubrahmaniyam
He said the government can help mitigate this problem by opening more Neeti and Jan Oushadi outlets. “It will be a good idea to get these government resourced and funded outlets function 24x7 instead of those in the private sector,” he added.

Rules governing medical stores
Rules clearly stipulate that no persons other than registered pharmacists shall compound, prepare, mix, dispense or supply medicines 
The rules also state that dispensing medicines without prescription of a registered medical practitioner would amount to professional misconduct 
Pharmacy Inspectors should conduct inspection at medical stores regularly

There are no stipulations. The only things a person needs to comply with before opening a medical store are appropriate space and certified pharmacists as staff. Medical shops are private entities and at the end of the day a business. We can’t ask them to function overnight when we know they will only get moderate sales during the period

— Balasubrahmaniyam, Health Officer in Charge, Corporation

There are no rules that require the medical stores to remain open for 24 hours. Many stores down their shutters after a particular time because running a 24-hour shop means employing an additional staff. Shifts will have to be arranged and salaries paid

— P V Tomy, president, All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association, Ernakulam

We close the store because of risk factors like drug abusers resorting to violence. However, we do give out medicines through a side door throughout the night. This is more a service than a business. Not many people are aware that we function 24 hours. We get up to 30 customers in the night apart from hospitals that ring us up when they run out of medicines. I am sure the number will be more if we had advertised

— Abdul Sathar, medical shop owner in Kakkanad