Impact of Russian attacks worsen on Ukrainian pharmacists

Ukrainian pharmacists have shared photos of their injured face on twitter to show the impact of Russian attacks on the lives of frontline workers and the people in Kharkiv.

Arthur Kharytonov, president of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine, tweeted the photos of Nina and Liudmyla, both working as pharmacists at 911 Pharmacy in northeast Ukraine.

Kharytonov tweeted: “This is Nina. She is a professional pharmacist from Kharkiv. Before the Russian bombing attack she served in the “9.1.1.” drugstore. Nina agreed to show the face after the meeting with simple Russians. To make the world know the truth. She will need a very long treatment.”

In his another tweet, he said: “And this is Liudmyla. She is 61. Also a pharmacist from Kharkiv. She worked with Nina at the same “911” pharmacy. Nina inspired her to show own face too after the meeting with Russians. As the call to the world. And a picture of the pharmacy they served till the last moment.

Last week, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) urged its members to support the displaced pharmacists from Ukraine if they are approached for employment.

The Ukrainian delegation to the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) gave the following update, at a meeting attended by the NPA’s Policy Manager, Helga Mangion:

• The situation is very bad, with a number of pharmacies closing either as a result of pharmacists not being able to reach their place of work, or because of lack of medicines.
• There is an issue with a large number of patients (displaced people) who are travelling without medicines. In many cases they do not possess a full list of their records, hence, a number of receiving countries have set up translation services for their pharmacies to ensure that refugees can continue to receive the appropriate treatment.

Helga Mangion said: “It is so sad to hear from our counterparts in Ukraine about the dangerous conditions for pharmacists and patients alike. Here in the UK we need to step up our preparations for meeting the pharmaceutical needs of refugees arriving here.”