PCN seals 103 pharmaceutical shops in Ebonyi

Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 103 pharmaceutical shops in Ebonyi state for various offences.

The agency said 7 of the shops are pharmacies while 96 are Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMV) shops.

According to the agency the PPMV shops were sealed for allegedly operating illegally and stocking beyond their scope while the 7 pharmacies, were sealed for failure to renew their registration license.    

Director and Head of the Inspection and Monitoring Department of the council, Pharm. Anthonia Aruya stated this in Abakaliki at the end of an enforcement and inspection exercise in the state.

She disclosed that a total of 296 facilities which included 38 pharmacies and 258 PPMVs were inspected during the exercise which took place in 23 towns across the 13 council areas in the state.

According to The Nation, Aruya noted that it was in line of this Mandate that PCN inspects, approves, registers and issues license to pharmaceutical premises and shops to ensure that minimum standards are in place in terms of storage conditions, capacity of personnel to handle the level of
practice in each facility and the quality of pharmaceutical services rendered in the interest of public safety.

She named the towns visited to include: Abakaliki, Isu, Oshiri, Afikpo, Unwana, Ezillo, Owutu-Edda, Nkalagu, Onueke, Umuoghara, Okwor, Effium, Ntezi, Ezzamgbo, Akaeze, Ishiagu, Amudo, Iboko, Okposi, Uburu and Oriegbe.

Though three shops were issued with compliance directives, the Director noted that the situation on ground in the state was commendable compared to other states visited so far as a good number of the PPMVs are in compliance, while others were yet to comply going by the number of shops sealed by the enforcement team due to non-compliance.

“The PCN enforcement team has been in Ebonyi state since Monday to strengthen the regulatory activities and to enlighten the general public that services rendered in unregistered outlets cannot be guaranteed and should thus be avoided”. 

“A case in point is the sale of expired products by a vendor where the enforcement team witnessed the return of such medicine by the client. Some of the PPMVs shops are illegal, stocking well above the approved drug list for which they had no ability to handle,” Aruya explained.

She further warned that any pharmacists or vendor who flouts the directives would be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others, though noting that it was expedient that all stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector submit to regulation due to the delicate nature of the critical services rendered by them that directly affect life.

Source : The Nation