Pharmacists bid to end GP visits for morning-after pill

PHARMACISTS last night stepped up the pressure on the Government to make the morning-after pill available without prescription.

The Irish Pharmacy Union previously surveyed 1,007 adults and found three-quarters were in favour of pharmacists handing out the emergency contraception after a simple consultation.

Under Irish law pharmacists can only hand over the morning-after pill if a patient has seen a doctor first and then received a prescription.

“This is just not practical at weekends and we get many women coming into pharmacies very concerned,” said union spokeswoman Kate Healy.

“Though the morning-after pill can be taken within 75 hours or so, it is most effective if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse.”

She said Ireland should adopt the system in place in Britain where pharmacists can give the morning-after pill to women following a consultation on its safe use. No prescription is needed.

The poll was carried out by the Behaviour and Attitudes market research company in June and found the chief opponents to pharmacists dishing out the morning-after pill without a doctor’s say-so were women aged 50 and above.

The poll also revealed the public was in favour of pharmacists handing out medicines for minor ailments — again without a doctor’s prescription.

Pharmacists want to dispense medicines like eye drops for conjunctivitis, a basic treatment to reduce blood-cholesterol and a cream to fight fungal skin infections like nappy rash.

“Pharmacists are under-used in Ireland when we compare ourselves to the rest of Europe,” said Ms Healy.

“We can save time and money for patients and make it less likely that they need to go to the doctor’s or to A&E at hospital.”

The poll also revealed the public was largely in favour of allowing pharmacists to test for diabetes, which can lead to blindness and premature death if not detected early.

The Institute of Public Health believes the number of people with diabetes in the Republic will rise by a third to 194,000 by the year 2015 — equal to one in 22 of the population.

Pharmacy union vice-president Liz Hoctor said early diagnosis of the condition by pharmacists could mean patients avoid complicated and expensive treatments later in life.

“There is still reluctance by health authorities to think outside the box in meeting the needs of patients,” she said.

The union also said the public would largely approve if pharmacists were allowed to substitute medicines on a prescription for cheaper alternatives when safe so to do.