‘There is no hope’ – Pharmacy Doctorate degree holders cry over 10-month allowance arrears

For 10 months, the government has not granted financial clearance for 320 Pharmacy Doctorate (Pharm D) degree holders, a situation that has left profound consequences on their physical and mental wellbeing.

The Pharm D House Officers are facing a harrowing situation that requires urgent attention from the Ministry of Health, the Pharmacy Council and the Ministry of Finance.

Despite the repeated appeals and engagements with stakeholders, the pharmacists are yet to receive even an official acknowledgement or contract with the sector ministry.

They have been plunged into desperation and disillusionment, with some saying they are traumatised and hopeless in their current conditions.

“We are Pharmacy House Officers. The thing is that with the six-year Pharm D programme, that is the Doctor of Pharmacy programme, when you are done, you should do your mandatory one-year service; we call it housemanship, just like the medical doctors do.”

“But since June last year, we’ve been working around the clock – some 12-hour shift, some eight-hour shift, five days a week, six days a week – and we still do not know if there is an official clearance,” one of the frustrated officers told TV3.

After having to wait in uncertainty and anxiety, the 320 pharmacists began their housemanship in July 2023.

But they are struck by a unique predicament – bureaucratic hurdles that have blocked their allowances for ten months.

This has resulted in a financial strain that is having a huge toll on them.

“The Ministry [of Health] can just get up and say ‘we had no official contract with you’ because officially we don’t have any contract with them. If I have clearance, I have an appointment letter and you’ve not paid me, I know that any day the government owes me.”

“But I don’t even have an official document stating that I am working with the Ministry of Health. So, if I complete my housemanship and government says ‘I never employed you’, what am I going for?” another affected doctor quizzed.

Health Ministry seeks clearance

The Health Ministry in June 2023 wrote to the Finance Ministry, requesting clearance for the 320 pharmacists.

But as of March 2024, the Doctors of Pharmacy are yet to receive the financial clearance.

I have sighted a WhatsApp conversation in which one of their leaders is said to have revealed the clearance letter is ready at the Finance Ministry.

“There is nothing; there is no hope 10 months into house job. I feel disappointed that 12 years after the initiation of Pharm D, nothing has been done to actually bring a clear-cut roadmap to what happens to us after school.”

“Imagine moving from Kumasi to Accra for house job, thinking you are changing your scenery because at the end of every month, you are going to get some small amount of money to take care of yourself… it’s unfortunate; it’s sad,” they lamented.

I tried to get official responses from their leadership but none yielded result.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) tells me it has engaged the Vice President and the Health Minister-designate on the issue.

“We just finished a meeting with the Vice President and [the] incoming Minister of Health. The Minister did mention that he has sighted the clearance for them [Pharm D House Officers] in answer to a question relating to it,” the Executive Secretary of the PSGH, Rev. Dr. Dennis Sena Awitty, said in a WhatsApp conversation.

Harsh realities

Despite the frequent assurances, the Pharm D House Officers are grappling with the harsh economic realities.

“It’s a lot. Hmm… It’s okay; I can’t even continue. If I try giving you the detailed things some of my colleagues are going through, you will feel the pain… this traumatising situation we are living in because it’s like adulthood is catching up with you, the expectations are high and things have to be done.”

“Now, I receive texts from my mates who are frustrated and they are tired. We should all stop hoping and start acting. Acting starts from those of us involved. I’ve seen about three batches going through this similar circumstance and while I was in school, I was hoping that by the time I get here, things would have been better but I am, going through the same thing,” the frustrated Doctor of Pharmacy said.

The impact of these pharmacists on patient care is undeniable.

Theirs is a plea for recognition of their invaluable contributions to the healthcare system and payment of their duly-earned income – not a plea for luxury.

Their silent struggle must be heard and their plea for financial clearance answered.

It is a call for the future of healthcare in Ghana, where every healthcare professional is recognised, supported and empowered to deliver their best to the Ghanaian population.