Dear Member,
The first recommendation from the Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of Pharmacy to facilitate pharmacist-led prescription extension is set to be implemented on 1 September. This recommendation and associated legislation provide the legal basis for pharmacists to extend the validity of a six-month prescription up to twelve-months.However, despite over a year of extensive discussions with the Department of Health (DoH) under the statutory three-year review of our fees as outlined in Section 42(14) of the Public Pay and Pensions Act, and more recently at the DoH’s request regarding the implementation and funding of the Expert Taskforce recommendations, no proposals have been advanced by the DoH to address our pay claim, the sixteen-year pay freeze, or the funding for new services such as the Prescription Extension Scheme.
We have recently written to both the Minister for Health (see here) and the DoH (see here) to highlight our key concerns requesting that any new service is postponed until such time as an agreement is reached.
You will note from the letter to the Minister that the key rationale for our position is as follows:
- Over the past 13 months, we have met with DoH officials regularly and have clearly communicated the urgent need to address our core funding to ensure the sustainability of our business model.
- Prescription extension was announced in November 2023, legislated for in March 2024, ahead of commencement in September. We believe this provided ample time to reach an agreement on the funding for this service and to address our existing pay claim.
- Provision of a legislatively defined role enhancement for pharmacists can only be delivered to private patients as no fee agreed with patients availing of medicines on government schemes. This will cause confusion for patients, create the perception of a two-tier health system, as well as leading to pharmacy teams experiencing frustration from their patients.
Additionally, in our correspondence with the DoH, we have clearly defined the expectations and the clinical role for the pharmacist in terms of service provision and that the appropriate associated fee for this enhanced clinical role that we are seeking has been fully costed at €26.87 per consultation.
Given this situation, we strongly advise that members to not engage in any new services, including the Prescription Extension Scheme, until significant progress is made on our pay issues.
We would also strongly advise that you inform your pharmacy team of our position, particularly your patient-facing staff. We have available a ‘Pharmacy Team Engagement Resource’ to aid you in this communication, which you can access here.
We will continue to keep you updated.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Murray
IPU President
