Deputy Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) who has been pursuing questions about the expansion of pharmacy services for several months now, asked the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD (Fianna Fáil, Wicklow), to “undertake the necessary research to assess the feasibility of involving pharmacists in Ireland in the management of confirmed hypertension”, and “conducting cardiovascular disease screening” within a pharmacy setting.
The Minister highlighted the “significant role that community pharmacists play in the delivery of patient care”, and also acknowledged the potential for the role of the pharmacist and the pharmacy to become further developed and expanded. The Minister referred to the establishment of the ‘Expert Taskforce’, and added that the Taskforce has “moved on to the second phase of its work”, and that there had been, and continues to be, “constructive engagement between Department officials and the Irish Pharmacy Union in recent months to expand the scope of pharmacy practice”.
Deputy Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) asked the Minister for Health about the “number of pharmacies operating in Dublin on a 24-hour basis”. The Minister has faced similar questions in recent months relating to Cork city. The Minister for Health informed the Deputy that the HSE would issue a response.
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, if he has “plans to unwind the remaining elements of the FEMPI legislation”, which includes cuts to pharmacy services. The Minister provided the Deputy with a summary of the establishment of FEMPI, highlighting that each year, the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform is “obliged to carry out an annual review of the operation, effectiveness and impact of the FEMPI Acts”, and that the Minister should consider if any of the “provision of the relevant acts continue to be necessary”. There was no specific mention of pharmacy services or the cuts in pharmacy fees.
One of the key Leinster House health trends of 2023 has been the keen focus on the availability and shortage of various medicines, which continued to the year end.
This has included Deputy Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Féin) asking the Minister for Health about “the process for pregnant women to obtain the medication, Cariban, under the drugs payment scheme”. The Minister for Health explained that Cariban is an ‘exempt medicinal product’ (EMP) and is not added to the “formal reimbursement list under the community drugs scheme”. The Minister further added that following recommendations from the HSE Management Programme, “reimbursement support for Cariban has been made available under an exceptional arrangement for specific patients who meet the criteria and where Consultant Obstetrician is initiated”. The Minister also emphasised that under this practice, this procedure must be “consultant initiated”.
Senator Lynn Ruane (Independent) spoke about access to Naloxone. She referred to how it is on prescription in Ireland, stating that there was “no need for it to be on prescription”. Senator Ruane also suggested that “there may be a need to be a campaign to help pharmacies understand the new box on the prescription with regard to Naloxone”.
Responding to the Senator, Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael), began her response saying that while Naloxone is currently a prescription-only drug, there have “been measures put in place to ensure that as many people as possible have access to it and its administration courses”. The Minister also spoke about how it can be used in an emergency situation, “without a prescription but their barrier is that the person administering the product must have a certification that they have completed a course of training”. Minister MacNeill also spoke to the Deputy’s point on educating people on the use of the prescription and added that the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, was “exploring ways to make it entirely prescription-free”.
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, also spoke about medicine shortages in response to Claire Kerranne (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Féin), and Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) who asked about the ‘availability of Tyvense”. Minister Donnelly stated that there has been shortages of the strengths of Tyvense, due to an “unexpected increase in demand and manufacturing challenges”.
Minister Donnelly gave a similar response when asked about Saxenda by Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Féin). The Minister explained that “Novo Nordisk, the company that is responsible for supplying Saxenda, is currently going through a process of shortages on Saxenda from early November of 2023 until mid-February”. The Minister also alluded to the HSE who during this shortage on Saxenda are “providing a temporary reimbursement code for the stock sourced from a different country”.
Ozempic, which has rarely been out of the news, also came up during a discussion on medical cards and the drugs payment scheme. Deputy Richard O’Donoghoe (Limerick County, Independent) asked the Minister if “any exceptions could be made for the inclusion of the drug Ozempic to be included in the medical card drugs list for patients who need it following advice from their GP”. The Minister for Health said that Ozempic is “not available on the Drugs Payment Scheme”, but “reimbursement support for Ozempic is only available to those who are eligible under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme or Long-Term Illness (LTI) Scheme”.
Róisin Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) and Deputy Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fáil), both raised the shingles vaccine. Deputy Shorthall asked the Minister for Health about the “status of the health technology assessment on the herpes zoster vaccine”.
Minister Donnelly began his response by summarising Ireland’s immunisation programme, and said that the “shingles vaccination is not currently provided as part of the programme”, but that it was available to people who are 50 and over, and those who want to avail of the vaccine should speak with their General Practitioner (GP) or pharmacist.
The Minister concluded his response adding that the Health Information and Quality Authority are “carrying out a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on the herpes zoster vaccine”, and that once this is completed, it will “inform decision making” on whether any changes should and need to be made to the National Immunisation Programme.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD outlined the latest statistics from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) on complaints made in relation to pharmacies. This was in response to a question from Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil) on the number of complaints made in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The Minister stated that the number of complaints made in 2021 was 80, and in 2022 this number was 53, while in 2023 this figure is at 65. Further to this, the Minister stated that of those complaints made, the following were referred to a further inquiry; 20 in 2021; 12 in 2022; and 25 in 2023.
Deputy Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) asked the Minister for Health about the Drugs Payment Scheme and the medical equipment required to treat people with sleep apnoea. The Minister provided a concise description of the scheme, telling the Deputy that it “ensures that no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines”, and that the scheme itself “provides reimbursement support for the costs associated with the rental of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine for individuals suffering from sleep apnoea”.
Brian Harrison
MKC Communications
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