PARLIAMENT

Hon. Dewananda Suraweera,— To ask the Minister of Health and Mass Media,— (1)

(a) Will he inform this House —

(i) of the number of the registered pharmacies and the number of registered pharmacists in Sri Lanka, separately;

(ii) whether the registered pharmacies should be operated under the supervision of a registered pharmacist as per the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act No.05 of 2015;

(iii) whether he accepts that there is a shortage of registered pharmacists compared to the number of registered pharmacies; and

(iv) if so, of the measures that have been taken so far and measures that will be taken in the future to address the shortage referred to above, separately?

(b) Will he also inform this House—

(i) whether he is aware that a credit pass for Chemistry subject in G.C.E. (A/L) examination is required to register with the Sri Lanka Medical Council in order to sit the External Pharmacist Examination; and

(ii) whether he accepts that the pass rate is as low as 6% of the total number of candidates who took the examination as only 99 out of 1700 candidates have passed the recent External Pharmacist Examination? 

(c) If not, why?