Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 HLL Lifecare Limited, a miniratna central public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, will be expanding its pharmacy network across the country as part of its retail public health services, officials said here on Thursday.
The expansion will see the number of pharmacy outlets under the network going up to 600 within next year and the number of pharmacists to 4,500, they said in a statement.
Starting its public health retail journey with an outlet at the Government Medical College here on 26 September 2011, the HLL’s retail service is completing 15 years of operations on Saturday, coinciding with the World Pharmacists Day, they said.
HLL’s retail operations currently engage 2,000 pharmacists, including 863 women pharmacists, who serve patients across the country.
As HLL expands its pharmacy network to around 600 outlets within the next year, the number of pharmacists is expected to grow significantly and could reach around 4,500, they said.
The expansion will also create opportunities for more pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to join HLL’s growing public-health retail network.
Benny Joseph, Director (Technical & Operations), HLL Lifecare Limited, said for HLL, retail is not simply about selling medicines but is also about making essential healthcare more accessible and affordable to people.
“What began with one ‘HLL Pharmacy’ at the Medical College here has grown into a much wider public-health retail network. Pharmacists are an important part of this journey. They are often among the healthcare professionals closest to patients when they need medicines and guidance, and play an important role in ensuring that medicines are available safely, reliably and affordably,” he said.
HLL’s retail expansion continues through partnerships with Central and state government PSUs, including the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Coal India Limited (CIL), and Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), as well as government hospitals, port trust hospitals, medical colleges, and other public healthcare institutions.
With the pharmacy network set to expand further, HLL aims to take affordable medicines and healthcare products to more people, including those in the remotest parts of the country, the statement added.
(PTI News)
