This was part of an operation to ensure the safety of the public during the Easter festivities.

The seized items included antibiotics and analgesics, baby foods such as Aptamil, cerelac, biscuits, energy drinks, lucozade, margarines, dairy products, sanitary pads and many others from pharmacy shops, supermarkets, and filling station marts and from the markets few days to the Easter Holidays.

This is the second time in less than four months that the FDA had raided the markets and seized expired products from market shelves and pharmacies in Koforidua and the district capitals in the Eastern Region.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Samuel Kwakye, Regional Director of the FDA, said expired goods were dangerous to the health of consumers and urged the public to check the manufacturing and the expiry dates on products before purchasing them.

He said the kind of products found expired such as Aptamil which is a breast milk substitute for babies and other antibiotic drugs was alarming if any of the expired ones had been bought by the unsuspecting public.

The Regional Director warned the public to always check the expiry dates and report any adverse findings to the FDA because sometimes the expiry dates were tampered with.

On sanctions to be applied, he explained that per the law shop owners whose expired goods were seized were fined for the first offence and this is in addition to seizing all the goods.

Mr Kwakye advised pharmacy shop owners to ensure that people they employed to work there in their absence do regular checks on the products so as to remove expired ones from the shelves.

–

Source: GNA

The post FDA confiscates expired medicines, foods  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The three unidentified persons as reported by an Accra based radio station, died because of oxygen shortage and surgeons’ refusal to administer expired anesthetic drugs on them.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TYnel2hmeO1pbxexXG2pBEk8Yk1wLId2″]Director of Pharmacy at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Hamid Abdulai in a Citi News interview, dismissed the reportage.

He insisted that it was a fabrication, and urged the general public to treat it with the contempt that it deserves.

“There is no issue, statement or occurrence of loss of any lives due to the use of expired anesthesia medications. There has never been the occurrence of issuance of any expired product whatsoever to that unit and all other units involved. As far as we are concerned the story is completely false.”

According to him, the hospital had enough stock of anesthetic drugs and wondered why such untruth should be peddled in the media.

“The hospital secured anesthetic medication notably vecuronium on 28th February 2017, but the head of the anesthesia unit Mr. Mumuni stated that his people will not accept this particular brand called Nor-Q.”

“Upon our verification, this happens to be the only brand available in the country; but they insist that they will not be able to use it claiming that it is ineffective.”

“Verifying with other sister facilities including Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and Tamale West Hospital indicates that it is the same product that anesthetists across the country have been using for some time now without any problems,” Hamid Abdulai lamented.

Hamid Abdulai however admitted that, power struggle within the hospital management is the cause of the media rant.

“I do not know what claims our anesthetists are putting forward and what they are seeking to achieve as other anesthetists in the country have been using this product successfully.”

The Tamale Teaching Hospital has lately gained media prominence for negative reasons.

Apart from some pressure groups call for the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Prosper Akambong’s removal from office, others are accusing management of embezzlement.

–

By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We didn’t dispense expired drugs – Tamale Teaching Hospital appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said: “Pharmacies are to report any drug close to expiry to the Food and Drugs Authority. There is a procedure to follow for FDA to acquire the drugs and destroy them. Patients safety should be the focus of every pharmaceutical practice.”

He also reminded Pharmacists that it was mandatory to renew their professional licence annually through the Pharmacy Council.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the orientation workshop organised for the newly qualified pharmacists in Accra, Mr Adupong noted that it was unethical for a pharmacist to sell medication to a patient which was supposed to be medication only by prescription.

He said “we have medications that can be given over the counter, and prescription only medicine. Over the counter medicine can be administered without a Doctor’s prescription but it is unethical to sell a ‘prescription only medicine’ without a prescriber.

“Pharmacists in administering drugs consider the composition of the drug and patients profile. In situations where the pharmacist’s deductions conflict the Doctor’s prescription, the pharmacist should contact the prescriber through the basic valid prescription which contain the prescriber’s fundamental details,” he said.

–

Source: GNA

The post Sale of expired drugs criminal – Pharmaceutical Society appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.