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Ahead of the upcoming state pharmacy council election in West Bengal, the lone alliance of the pharmacist bodies, United Pharmacists Forum (UPF), has released its election manifesto assuring 18 guarantees to the registered pharmacist community in the state.
Once the alliance wins the election, the council will amend the WB Pharmacy Council Rules (WB PCR) with regard to the appointment process of Council Registrar, including educational qualifications, professional experience etc.
The manifesto says that there is no accurate information regarding the appointment process and qualifications of the registrar in the current rules of the council. UPF feels this is the only solution to the ongoing disputes prevailing in the council with reference to the appointment of the present registrar, who is a commerce graduate. The council president is also a non-pharmacist.
Similarly, the rules of the WBPC regarding appointment process, qualifications and experiences of the staff in the council office will also be revised in accordance with pharmacy act and the pharmacy practice regulations. At present there is no specific mandate on these issues in the council rules. No chance will be given for further dispute in these matters.
Further to this proposal, the UPF-led council will make one proposal to the government to implement the Pharmacy Practice Regulations 2015 in the state. The associations in the alliance say that the present council could not recommend to the government or take follow-up actions with the government for the implementation of the regulations. Steps with the government need to be taken to set-up patient counseling centres in government and private hospitals, In-Patient pharmaceutical services in hospitals, and above all, for the welfare of the pharmacy professionals and upliftment of the pharmacy profession.
The UPF council will reduce all the unethically increased service charges for each service. The alliance alleges that the present council has increased the fees for registration and renewal of certificates. This fee will be reduced if they come to power.
Further, the new council will abolish the processing fee introduced by the existing council seeing that it is a violation of Section 34 of the pharmacy act. The associations say that there is no mention of processing fee for council services anywhere in the pharmacy act. Collection of processing fee is illegal and unethical.
Similarly, the new council will abolish the fee collected by the present council for the refresher courses being conducted as per norms of Section 4.2 of the PPR. The training program will be made completely free of charge, and made online.
The manifesto promises that, upon winning the election, the UPF will change the council activities into a high-tech model so as to enable pharmacists of distant places to get immediate services. The pharmacists will be able to avail all services online including registration and renewal. Within 15 days of applying for registration, renewal, and for other services, their certificates will be delivered to them by postal service.
In addition to these promises, there are also certain assurances from the associations in the alliance to the registered pharmacists, and the major guarantees are each registered pharmacist will be given insurance coverage, district pharmacy service centres will be opened, B Pharm Practice Regulations 2014 will be implemented, proposal will be sent to the government to hold future council election on online mode, a quarterly magazine will be published and issued to the pharmacists free of cost, and all registered pharmacists will be provided with a badge and white apron with their name and registration number.
However, the manifest does not mention anything about the job opportunities of the Pharm D pharmacists, or about the future of the course. In Kolkata, no institution is conducting Pharm D programme, according to reports.
UPF includes associations such as the Pharmacists Association of West Bengal (PAWB), the West Bengal Progressive Pharmacists Welfare Association (WBPPWA), the Progressive Chemist and Druggist Association (PCDA), and the Young Pharmacists Forum (YPF). The election is scheduled to be held in the months of December 2024 and January 2025.
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