Demanding the creation of a separate cadre of clinical pharmacists in government hospitals in Telangana and elsewhere in the country, close to 300 Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) graduates took out a rally and held a public meeting on Saturday. The graduates pointed out that the number of candidates having completed the six-year Pharm.D course was increasing every year but so far, the government (State and Centre), had not created a cadre for clinical pharmacists.
The Pharm.D courses started in 2008 and there are nearly 1,200 pass outs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who do not have provision to practice and the government too has not created a cadre for recruitment in government hospitals, the protesting graduates said. Since 2008, the number of colleges offering Pharm.D courses has increased to 90 in both States.
The pharmacy graduates pointed out that the government was not utilising the huge number of Pharm.D candidates who were coming out of colleges and are equipped with experience and medical knowledge to serve the rural poor as Primary Health Centres (PHC) doctors.
BJP State president G. Kishan Reddy and LB Nagar MLA R. Krishnaiah participated in a meeting organised by the pharmacy graduates after the rally. The graduates also protested against Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), the legal body responsible for introducing Doctor of Pharmacy in India. Doctor of Pharmacy graduates and students from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participated.
