A meeting took place today between the Chamber of Pharmacists, the GRTU Healthcare Division, the Ministry and Parliamentary Secretariat responsible for Health.

In a statement by the Ministry said that all parties are committed to the Pharmacy of your Choice initiative and its evolution.

The Chamber of Pharmacists and GRTU stated clearly “that they have never claimed that there was political discrimination in the POYC system.”

Moreover further to the joint meeting, the Chamber of Pharmacists and GRTU were assured that the POYC is not being subjected to political discrimination in its operations, the Ministry said.

The Chamber and the GRTU said that they have surveyed their members and recognise that the inefficiencies of the procurement and POYC processes are triggering consumers to complain to POYC when specific medicines are not available at pharmacies. “POYC from their end often seek to address such shortages at pharmacies.” All parties said that they recognise the need to improve the system without requiring customers to complain about such matters.

All parties said that they also recognise that the POYC business processes and systems require significant improvements and will collaborate in the design and implementation of such improvements. “These problems have been with the initiative for many years and need to be addressed urgently.”

The Government said that it is committed to restructure POYC, improve business processes and communications with Pharmacies, and enhance IT systems. It has also launched a change programme which will seek to improve all aspects related to the procurement, distribution and dispensing of medicines.

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