During the National Health Summit 2024, held at Croke Park on Wednesday, IPU PCC Chair Kathy Maher participated in a panel discussion titled “Taking Action to Move Care Closer to Home.” Joining her on the panel were Tadhg Daly from Nursing Homes Ireland, Dr. Elizabeth Aitken, Consultant Physician in General & Elderly Medicine, Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust, and Dr. John Cuddihy, National Director of Public Health, HSE.
Addressing an audience comprised of health leaders, decision-makers, clinicians and key policymakers, Kathy underscored the invaluable contribution of community pharmacy to the healthcare sector. She emphasised the untapped potential that could be unlocked with adequate resources for pharmacies, highlighting the urgent need to address the inequality stemming from the 16-year pay fee freeze.
Kathy also seized the opportunity to inform the large audience that there is more pharmacies can do, particularly around the provision of a Common Clinical Condition service, providing contraception following a pharmacist consultation, and extending the range of state funded vaccines administered by pharmacists. Kathy emphasised that using pharmacists’ clinical knowledge to therapeutically substitute medicines in serious short supply would go some way to alleviating ongoing medicine shortages.
She flagged the urgent requirement for recruiting a Chief Pharmaceutical Officer to develop policy and strategy at department level, to enable change and full utilisation of community pharmacists. Further details from the event will be available on the IPU website in the next few days.
