‘Patients must not be used as pawns’ in dispute

PATIENTS must not be used as pawns by any party in a commercial dispute, patient advocate Stephen McMahon told over 1,000 pharmacists attending an emergency meeting over government fee cuts.

The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) claim more than 1,110 pharmacists have notified the Health Service Executive (HSE) that they will stop dispensing drugs under the community drugs schemes from August 1 because of the 34% fee cut.

Mr McMahon, who is chairman of the Irish Patient Association, said he believed that the current crisis was a violation of patients’ rights.