What is a key responsibility of a storekeeper in medicines safety and quality?

• A. Marketing to customers
• B. Auditing supplier accounts
• C. Receiving, storing, and issuing stock
• D. Designing new medicines

Answer: (C)

Handling medicines in a store to protect safety and quality hinges on proper receiving, storage, and issuing of stock. The storekeeper ensures medicines arrive from suppliers in good condition, checking deliveries against orders, inspecting packaging, and verifying batch numbers and expiry dates while recording what has come in. Storage then means keeping items under correct conditions—appropriate temperature, humidity, light protection, and secure organization—with stock rotated so the oldest lots are used first. Issuing stock involves accurate documentation, preventing unauthorized removal, and ensuring the right medicine reaches the right patient or department with clear traceability. When these steps are done well, medicines remain effective, safe, and properly accounted for, reducing the risk of expired or compromised products entering use. Marketing to customers, auditing supplier accounts, and designing new medicines are separate activities that do not directly address the day-to-day safety and quality of stored medicines.