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Must heed call for greater accountability

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The recent incident of dispensers at a government clinic giving children mouthwash instead of anti-fever syrup calls attention to outdated practices that have negative consequences for public health. The Citizens Party suggests that it is time to look at the fundamentals.

At present, there are 250 private dispensaries (otherwise known as authorised sellers of poison, or ASPs), and approximately 80 Department of Health dispensaries in Hong Kong. Private sector ASPs are required to have a pharmacist on duty for at least two-thirds of the opening hours, to supervise the work of trained dispensers, who mix and handle drugs and communicate with the public.

However, in accordance with regulations drafted at a time when Hong Kong was short on resources and trained professionals (and the Government still held crown immunity), dispensers in government clinics are not required to operate under the supervision of a pharmacist.

Why has Hong Kong failed to bring these regulations up to date? And why was it only two years ago that medicines dispensed in public clinics were required to be labelled with their contents? Perhaps both situations indicate a broader issue of insufficient appreciation within our medical profession and the Government that good medical services include professional dispensing of drugs and medicines.

Dispensers are skilled technical workers who must complete three years of education and internship before receiving their licence. Pharmacists are highly trained professionals, who must understand the technical aspects of mixing and compounding drugs as well as be able to plan and direct their provision and supply. The public relies on pharmacists and dispensers to communicate the details about medicines, including any complicated instructions or precautionary measures. In fact it has become clear from the recent incident, after which several government-employed dispensers revealed that their job entails more explanations and thus takes more time than it did in the past, that the public now demands more communication about the medicines they are given. This indicates a growing sense of responsibility and accountability about public health, and should be acknowledged and encouraged by the Government and the medical profession.

Simply put, times have changed, and the Government must meet the challenge.

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