’Can’t help if people suffer’

Said a representative of chemists on a day when they shut shops in the city, protesting against a new government policy

'Can't help if people suffer'

Said a representative of chemists on a day when they shut shops in the city, protesting against a new government policy

There was no relief for 43-year-old Sushil Lal. He had come to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) because of severe pain his abdomen. First, he had to wait in the emergency ward of the institute for hours. Later, he did manage to get some treatment, but sadly he came to know that no chemist shop in the city was open.

Bitter pill: Chemist shops across the Capital remained closed yesterday
due to the strike. pic/ARJUN PAWARu00a0

"None of the chemist shops were open. I came outside to purchase the medicines, but I was shocked to see all the outlets closed. They should have at least thought about the patients who will come to the hospital," he said.

Not alone
Lal is amongst the thousands of people who had to suffer on Monday. Over 10,000 chemist shops in the national capital were closed yesterday in protest against a government order replacing Schedule H by Schedule Hx in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. If the change is made, it would be mandatory to present two copies of the doctor's prescription - one for the patients and the other for chemists - for the sale of 74 listed antibiotics. Also, chemists will have to keep a record of prescriptions of antibiotics they sell for at least a year.
"Half of the drugs sold are antibiotics and therefore it would become difficult for us to maintain the record of the sales for a year," said a chemist in Mayur Vihar, who wished to remain anonymous.

While, a large number of people in various parts of the city suffered due to this daylong protest, on the other hand, the chemist association feels the strike was justified. "I am a diabetic and my medicine got finished in the morning. I sent my son to purchase them, but no shop was open. How can they close chemist shops? Medicines are a necessity for people. Any one can fall ill anytime. This is really annoying," said Sanjeev Srivastava, a resident of Indirapuram.

'Come back later'
"The shops will reopen tomorrow. We will speak to the government so that we can come to a collective decision.u00a0 But if the public is suffering, we cannot do anything about it. We have no other solution," said Kailash Gupta, president, All India Chemist and Distributor's Association.

On the other side, all the chemist outlets with private hospitals like Max Healthcare and Indraprastha Apollo were open. The strike did not affect their normal routine.

"It is a completely wrong step. They are trying to blackmail the government. Carrying a prescription should be compulsory for each and everyone coming to a chemist shop. With the new government policy, the supply of fake medicines will come to an end," said Dr Anil Bansal, chairman, Anti-Quackery committee, Delhi Medical Council (DMC).