Community Pharmacists raise concern over govt’s plan for new regulations for healthcare facilities

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, has expressed concerns over the Federal Government’s plan to introduce new regulations for healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

ACPN claimed the proposed reforms are unnecessary and could be counterproductive.

In a statement issued by its Chairman and Secretary, Ambrose Eze and Omokhafe Ashore respectively, ACPN said the existing National Health Act of 2014, if fully implemented, could effectively address the problem of unregulated and substandard healthcare facilities.

The Pharmacists stressed that they share the enthusiasm of the Health Minister to deal with the menace of unregulated and substandard health facilities but said it must be done in tandem with existing Acts of Parliament and logically the 1999 Constitution.

The ACPN stated that there are a plethora of health statutes including the National Health Act 2014 that are not activated for the benefit of consumers of health.

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The statement said, “The other leg of the menace of substandard health facilities has to do with the extremely wretched funding of the existing regulatory agencies in healthcare.”

”Only recently, an inexperienced and ill-tempered former Director General of the Budget Office almost destabilized the health sector by removing the 15 professional regulatory councils from the Appropriation Act of the Federal Government, it took the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Health to convince the Presidency and National Assembly of the unwholesome consequences of such moves before it was reversed.

The Pharmacists said it would be wasteful and inefficient to the Federal Government’s proposal to establish a new National Health Regulatory facility.

The body advised the Federal Government to exercise discretion as it cannot continue to approbate and reprobate, explaining that in one swoop the Federal Government said it does not have money to cater for existing regulatory councils and in another vein it is contemplating setting up a new National Health Regulatory facility which shall regulate across the country.