Beaufort clinic pharmacy unit told to fill all requests for medicine
Published on: Tuesday, July 02, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The PDHC is a type 6 government clinic which has been serving the public in this part of Beaufort since 1963.
THE Pharmacy Unit at a government clinic in one part of Beaufort has been asked to fill all requests for medicine during the medical institution’s operating hours – be they from new patients or existing ones who want to replenish their supply of medication.
A spokesman for the Health Department said the Unit’s staff had also been reminded to be cordial in their dealings with patients, besides trying to provide them with the optimum service, at all times.
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“On top of this, they were reminded to practise our ‘No-Wrong-Door’- policy,” he said.
Under this policy, he explained, the Unit’s personnel were duty-bound to cater to the needs of outstation patients who turned up in person at the clinic.
He said the doors to the premises opened at 8am and closed at 5pm from Monday to Friday, with the staff going on a one-hour break between 1-2pm from Monday to Thursday.
The Clinic’s administration did away with the policy of not refilling prescriptions on Fridays at the end of May.
“They are afforded a longer break on Friday, between 11.30am-2pm, to allow them to observe Friday prayers.”
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He said the clinic did not operate on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.
The spokesman was responding to feedback from a patient about his inability to replenish his existing supply of medicine at the Padas Damit Health Clinic (PDHC) on a Friday earlier this year.
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He related his displeasure to Hotline in writing. This letter was forwarded to the agency.
The spokesman said the Clinic’s administration was queried about the patient’s experience.
“At the time that the patient had gone to the premises, the administration had designated that the ‘pengambilan ubat susulan (collection of follow-up medication)’ could be only be done from Monday to Thursday,” he said.
“This was not something new. The Clinic has been observing this practice since August 2023.”
He said staff at the institution’s Pharmacy Unit did not attend to requests to refill prescriptions on Fridays so that they could deal with other tasks, including:
- preparing the medication for the “Sistem Pembekalan Ubat-Ubatan Bersepadu (Holistic Medicine Dispensing System)”.
- managing the store.
- prepackaging existing medicines.
- putting together reports and recording the counselling activities for the Medicine Information Centre.
He explained that the tasks involved in managing the store involved the receipt, storage and dispensing of medicine, as well as making estimates and acquiring various medicine, non-medication items and vaccines for the PDHC.
“The staff are also required to check on the stock and orders for medicine, from the Membakut Health Clinic and Beaufort Hospital, which will be used at the PDHC.”
“In spite of these multiple responsibilities, the Unit’s two personnel tried as much as they could not to turn away anyone who came to refill their prescriptions on a Friday.
“These patients were given enough medicine to last them till their next appointment.”
He said the Unit was manned by a Pharmacist and Assistant Pharmacist (U29) and it was not understaffed.
“Both staff are capable of meeting the normal workload at the pharmacy’s counter.”
A check of the workload at the counter for the first quarter of 2024 showed that the pair had to fill more than 60 prescriptions each day between January and April, according to him.
“On average, they filled a total of 74 prescriptions daily in January, 66 in February, 65 in March and 78 in April,” he explained.
“According to our ‘Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs’, there is nothing unusual about a pharmacist at a government clinic having to dispense medication for 60 prescriptions a day.
“It is normal for an assistant pharmacist to fill 80 prescriptions for the same period.”
Nevertheless, the spokesman said, the Clinic’s administration had evaluated the predicament of the patient who came to refill his prescription on a Friday.
“The decision was made to do away with the practice of not servicing such prescriptions with immediate effect.
“So from the beginning of June, patients who are running out of their medication and want to replenish their supply, can do so on every working day of the week.”
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