400,000 letters to support chemists

COMMUNITY pharmacists opposed to cost-cutting measures being introduced by the Health Service Executive on Saturday travelled to the Dáil yesterday to deliver more than 400,000 letters of support from the public to TDs.

Peter McElwee, a community pharmacist from Mountmellick, Co Laois, who was among the 50 pharmacists to travel to Dublin to deliver the letters, stressed that no medical card patients would be refused medication when the cuts were introduced.

“Most pharmacists feel a duty of care to their patients and will take the hit themselves on these reduced payments during the month of March,” he said.

The HSE wants to cut wholesale service charges by more than 50% to about 8% — the EU-wide industry norm, with the margin reduced to 7% after one year.

Pharmacists believe there should be no change to their payments, or to their contracts without an agreed comprehensive review of the charges.

Mr McElwee said his pharmacy was one of a number heavily dependent on medical card payments but it would be the end of March before his business and others would begin to feel the effects of the reduced payments.

“If pharmacies find they are going to be paid substantially less than what the medication has cost them at the end of March, then a different scenario could arise,” he said.

Pharmacists have warned the cuts will close community pharmacists in every county, cause serious difficulties for medical card patients, especially in rural communities and see up to 5,000 people lose their jobs.

The Irish Pharmacy Union has organised an emergency general meeting of its members in Dublin for next Wednesday to discuss the reduced payments.

Mr McElwee said the day of the meeting was likely to cause some disruption in pharmacy services but arrangements had been made so all areas of the country would have emergency cover.