Pharmacists warn of looming medicine supply crisis

Pharmacists tonight hit out at State health chiefs claiming they were desperately trying to cover up a looming crisis in the supply of medicine.

The Irish Pharmacy Union said a list of about 800 stores, which the Health Service Executive claims will dispense drugs during a planned stoppage, is inaccurate.

The IPU says about 1,100 pharmacies are expected to close this weekend in a bitter row with the Government over plans to cut fees.

And Liz Hoctor, IPU president, said the HSE have not put a proper contingency plan in place to cover the gaps and were now attempting to hide the failures.

“The onus is on the minister to provide a safe and workable alternative to patients to access their medicines, as she and the HSE assured us would be done,” she said.

“If the HSE cannot get a list of pharmacies right how can they dispense medicines safely to people all over the country.”

The HSE published a list of pharmacies it claimed would be open to medical card holders, but the IPU then accused health chiefs of getting the details wrong.

The union said it had been contacted by a string of pharmacists who insisted they should not be on the list. According to the IPU it included;

:: A pharmacy in Galway which closed three months ago.

:: Sixteen pharmacies in Dublin and the North East which are not opening.

:: A pharmacy in the Midlands which doesn’t have a contract to dispense on the community drugs schemes.

:: And a further 11 in the South East which will not open.

The IPU said its list, which contains about 1,100 stores, is being published on its website www.ipu.ie.

“It is clear the list published in today’s papers is a smokescreen and confirms the union’s view that the HSE has no workable contingency plan,” Ms Hoctor said.

“This is a desperate attempt by a desperate organisation to hide the fact that they do not have a workable plan capable of meeting the needs of patients. Pharmacists have absolutely no faith in the contingency plan put in place by the HSE.

“We are extremely worried about the ability of the plan to deliver even a basic pharmacy service.”

The IPU said the HSE has listed pharmacies which health chiefs believe did not give enough notice of the withdrawal of services.

The drug dispensing row centres over Health Minister Mary Harney’s attempts to reduce the cost of prescription medicine in Ireland.

Government health chiefs maintain the cost of dispensing under the Medical Card Scheme and the Drugs Payments Scheme have doubled since 2002 to over €1.6bn in 2008 – with fees and other income earned by pharmacists also doubling.

The minister maintained cuts to be imposed from August 1 will slash payments to pharmacists by 24%, but stressed they will continue to earn high margins on prescriptions similar to what was paid in 2006 and 2007.

But the IPU estimates the figures do not add up and that its members will be hit with an unsustainable 34% cut.