- Expansion of Services Should Not Delay Changes to Fee Structure
16 May 2024: The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, of a new public consultation on the expansion of pharmacy services. The IPU say this will likely reveal the widespread support for further pharmacy expansion, which will have a tremendous benefit for Ireland’s healthcare system. However, the IPU is also warning that pharmacies are under extreme pressure due to underfunding of core patient services and ever-increasing administrative burdens. Addressing these concerns cannot be delayed any further.
Welcoming the consultation process President of the IPU Tom Murray said, “There has been a steady momentum towards expanding the role of pharmacies in Ireland particularly in the past 12 months. The opening of this consultation is another welcome step. The clear view of the profession and the patients we speak to is that there is a fervent desire for pharmacies to provide more services.
“There are enormous potential benefits from an expansion of pharmacy services. This should include the introduction of a minor ailments scheme addressing common clinical conditions, independent prescribing for certain conditions, making oral contraception (the pill) available from pharmacies without prescription. This would make treatment more efficient for patients and the health service.”
However, Mr Murray warned that this consultation process cannot be allowed to slow efforts to address the deficits in funding pharmacies. “Ireland’s pharmacies provide an essential service to the State by dispensing medicines through various community drug schemes. Despite the significant increase in costs and the ever-increasing administrative burdens, the fees for providing these services have been frozen for 16 years. We have reached a point where pharmacies are losing money by providing services to the State, this is unsustainable. It must be the absolute priority when examining pharmacy services.”
ENDS
