The Chief Executive Officer of Top-Up Pharmacy and Lena House Clinic, Dr Richard K. Odor, in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a staff dinner and awards night held Wednesday, noted that the issue of quark practitioners were of major concern but lauded the regulatory body for taking steps to weed out unqualified people who had infiltrated the system.

He cautioned people to desist from taking drugs without first talking to a doctor or a pharmacist.

“Drugs can become poisons depending on how they are used.

You need to speak to a pharmacist on every drug you take so that you will have the full benefit of the drug because a poorly used drug becomes a poison,” he said.

Dr Odor, while praising the workers for their distinguished service, also appreciated them for their indispensable role in the ongoing success of the organisation.

Dr Odor said from what started as a tiny single store in Tema Community Four, the company now has 20 branches employing 300 people, stressing that in the coming years, the company was looking at growing into a big pharmaceutical company with branches in all the regions of Ghana.

He said they were equally targeting the West African sub region and also considering veering into local production of pharmaceuticals because they thought that should ultimately be the way forward to bring quality affordable medicines to the doorstep of people to take care of their healthcare needs without necessarily spending a lot of foreign currency importing these same medicines.

Dr Richard Odor (2nd from left), Chief Executive Officer, Top-Up Pharmacy being presented with a citation from staff and management members of Top-Up Pharmacy at an awards and dinner at Tema. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO

Challenge

Dr Odor said one of the challenges facing the business was getting an appropriate location to open a facility while the other challenge was getting access to funding.

He said because medicines were expensive and trying to get the right kind of medicine and having all the stocks a client needed at any point in time was daunting.

He expressed the hope that the banks would be more welcoming and supporting the pharmaceutical industry so that the cost of doing business in the pharmacy space would be less and they could pass that benefit to the clients so that invariably, the cost of medicines would go down

He also expressed the hope that the challenges faced in the clearing of medicines at the ports would be looked at so they could bring in registered products that would benefit the general public

The General Manager in charge of Retail, Dr Emmanuel Fiadzorgbe, said Top Up Pharmacy Group had lived up to its ideals of delivering exceptional pharmaceutical care and making a positive impact on people's lives.

He commended the staff, whom, he said, had worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure customers' needs were met with care, professionalism, and expertise.

Awards

Five hardworking staff of the Top Up Pharmacy Group Limited were honoured for their outstanding contributions to the company.

They were Dr Amanda Mingle- East Legon Branch, Best Branch Manager, Sandra Adofo- Spintex Branch, Best Sales Supervisor Solomon Adevu-Transport Department, Best Non-Sales Supervisor, Ms Prisca Ansah- Osu Branch, Best Junior Sales Staff and - George Mordzi- Tema Community 9 Branch, Best Junior Non-Sales Staff.

Long-service awards were also given to staff who had served the company for 10 years and above.

They include Janet Okantu who had served the company for 15 years.

The CEO and his wife, Olena, were also appreciated by the staff of the company.