- IPU calls for Government to deliver on previous commitment to provide targeted support for pharmacies serving disadvantaged communities.
IPU Sunday 20 September: The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has called on Government to use Budget 2027 to introduce targeted support for community pharmacies serving areas of significant social deprivation, helping to protect access to healthcare in communities where health needs are greatest.
Pharmacies are often among the most accessible healthcare services within disadvantaged communities, providing patients with medicines, healthcare advice, medicines management and ongoing support close to where they live.
However, pharmacies serving these communities can face greater operational and financial pressures. They typically care for higher volumes of patients with complex healthcare needs, provide greater levels of health literacy and patient support, face higher security and operational costs, and have less capacity to offset these costs through other sources of income.
The IPU is therefore calling for the introduction of a targeted Health Equity Payment for pharmacies operating in areas of significant social deprivation, with €2.295 million sought in Budget 2027 to fund the measure.
Importantly, the principle is not new. The 2020 Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, committed to providing community pharmacies with dedicated additional resources in disadvantaged communities, focused on improving health outcomes and informed by strong data.
Commenting, IPU President Caoimhe McAuley said, “The Government has previously recognised that community pharmacies serving disadvantaged communities required dedicated additional resources to improve health outcomes. The principle was right then, and the evidence for acting on it is even stronger today. If Government is serious about reducing health inequalities, we must protect access to healthcare in the communities where the need is greatest.
“This is not simply about supporting individual pharmacy businesses. It is about protecting a highly accessible part of our primary care infrastructure and ensuring that the move towards delivering more care closer to home benefits every community.”
The case for action is further reinforced by the approach already taken in general practice. Government provides a Social Deprivation Practice Grant for GMS general practices, using the Pobal HP Deprivation Index to direct additional resources towards practices serving disadvantaged populations.
Ms McAuley concluded, “The commitment to provide additional resources to pharmacies in disadvantaged communities has already been made. Budget 2027 is an opportunity to deliver on it and ensure that pharmacies in these areas can continue providing accessible care to the patients and communities who depend on them.”
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