Call for intervention in drug price row

THE National Implementation Body has received a formal request from the Irish Pharmaceutical Union to intervene in its increasingly acrimonious row with the Health Service Executive over payments.

Last night, a spokesperson for the Department of the Taoiseach confirmed there had been an official request for intervention but no reply had issued yet.

The row, which centres on HSE plans to slash almost 10% off the mark-up price it pays to wholesalers for drugs by 2009, yesterday led to the withdrawal of methadone services for heroin addicts.

The protest action by pharmacists has been widely condemned by anti-drug activists and politicians alike as a “cynical” and “unethical” ploy.

Yesterday, Health Minister Mary Harney said they would have to ensure, when drawing up future contracts with health providers, that essential services are maintained during a dispute.

“I think it’s a great pity that 140 pharmacists have withdrawn the service to what are the most vulnerable group of patients in any healthcare system, and clearly we are trying to help these patients to stay off drugs.

“In future contracts we have to make sure that when essential services are being supplied that we make provision for this kind of situation because it is clearly not good enough.”

Ms Harney appealed to pharmacists to restore the service. The HSE said there was “no justification” for the pharmacists’ actions which are affecting about 3,000 patients in the greater Dublin area. The HSE also said that it met with the wholesalers involved in the reform of wholesale prices and that they had “individually committed” to ensuring pharmacists would not be out of pocket on foot of the reforms. The three main wholesalers are United Drug, Uniphar and Cahill May Roberts.

The HSE also claimed it was not in a position to respond to the IPU’s call to engage in direct negotiations regarding dispensing fees because the IPU, as a collection of business undertakings, is precluded under the Competitions Act 2002 from negotiating fees.

Yesterday, Labour TD Michael D Higgins said the dispute could have been averted if the Government had accepted a Private Members Bill he published in 2006 which would have ensured the right of pharmacists to be represented in negotiations by their union.

General secretary of the IPU, Seamus Feely, said the HSE had “utterly failed” pharmacists and had compounded difficulties by refusing the recognise the union’s rights to negotiate.

Mr Feely rejected the claim that they had targeted a vulnerable group by withdrawing from the methadone programme, saying drug addicts were “a very resilient group, a group that are well able to look after themselves”.

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh criticised the HSE for refusing to give out the location of the 13 centres they say are dispensing methadone in place of the pharmacists.

Anyone affected by the dispute can ring the HSE’s drug helpline: 1800459459.