Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 06 2009:
As the wholesalers have stopped supplying medicines to them, pharmacies inside RIMS campus, which have been set up by the RIMS authority to ensure availability of medicines to the patients at lower cost, have not been able to meet the demand of the patients.
Starting from August this year, four pharmacies have been set up inside RIMS campus.
Over and above this, process is underway to set up another two pharmacies.
Following alleged complaint of duping the patients by the runners of the phamarcies located outside the RIMS campus, the RIMS authority mooted the idea of setting up pharmacies inside the campus to ensure availability of the medicines to the patients at a lower cost.
As per the agreement signed with the RIMS authority, the pharmacies were made to deposit a sum of Rs 5 lakhs each.
General patients can avail a discount of 10 percent while upto 12 percent by the patients suffering cancer and those having BPL cards at the time of purchasing medicines from these pharmacies.
Though the steps taken up by the RIMS authority has helped the patients along with ensuring availability of the medicines at a lower cost, the pharmacies have not been able to cater to the demands after the wholesalers stopped supplying the medicines.
According to those who are running the pharmacies inside RIMS campus, after the first one and half month of opening the pharmacies, the wholesalers stopped supplying the medicines.
As a consequence, they have not been able to meet demand of various types of medicines.
After the wholesalers stopped supplying medicines, the required medicines are being bought either from the pharmacies outside the RIMS campus or from retailers at Guwahati which are sent through line buses and the same are being sold at the prizes fixed by RIMS authority, they said, adding that purchasing the medicines directly from the pharmaceutical companies concerned involve huge amount.
The situation which has come about after the wholesalers stopped supplying medicines has already been brought to the notice of the RIMS authority, the pharmacists informed.
It may be recalled here that pressing its demands Manipur Chemists and Druggist Association had served an ultimatum to the RIMS authority announcing its decision of not supplying medicines to the pharmacies being operated inside the hospital campus until fulfilment of the demands.