Darragh O'Loughlin: Simple remedy to ease the ills of health sector

Change has become the dominant word in Irish politics in recent weeks, but pharmacists have been screaming this word for years — and are now demanding that change in the health sector is ignited by whichever parties form the next Government.

Community pharmacists, who are to be found in every town and village in Ireland, represent a microcosm of the electorate and we are angry and fed up, particularly with the myriad of broken promises and the snail’s pace of reform in our health service.

Pharmacists feel completely undervalued by policymakers and believe that our voices and our concerns are not being heard and our potential has long been overlooked. We are ready, willing and more than capable of playing a greater role in the health service by expanding the range of services we provide to ease pressure on other parts of the health care system.

However, we have been shouting into the wilderness on these issues for many years, despite consistently offering immediate solutions to some of the very obvious problems in our health service.

Sadly, community pharmacy is also a microcosm of the failure to deliver the change Irish society so clearly needs. The previous programme for government included a pledge to “expand the role of community pharmacists in managing the health of their patients and medicine prescription”. We are still waiting.

Instead, last October pharmacists were left deeply shocked and angered when the Government attempted to introduce cuts to pharmacy funding, contrary to what was proposed for other major healthcare professions. Fortunately, the proposal was reversed by the Department of Health after a concerted campaign by the Irish Pharmacy Union and its 2,300 members.

The campaign also forced Minister for Health Simon Harris to reiterate his government’s pledge to commence talks on a new pharmacy contract and to enhance the role of community pharmacy in the delivery of healthcare.

Pharmacists welcomed the Minister’s U-turn, but it has left a sour taste. At a time when pharmacists should be permitted to do more for patients and the public, given the health service’s current unsustainable over-reliance on GP services, the suggestion of fee cuts was like a slap in the face. We have taken cuts, we have offered solutions, we have consistently taken on additional work for no additional remuneration — and we are rewarded with proposed fee cuts.

Let me be clear — morale among pharmacists is shockingly low. We provide a wealth of support to patients at the heart of our communities and we know we are a vital cog in the health service, yet we have been consistently relegated to the role of 'the Cinderella' of the health service.

We have been shouting from the roof tops for many years that we can do more to help Irish patients. We have put forward detailed proposals on how community pharmacies can cost- effectively relieve some of these pressures and improve people’s health outcomes and declared that we are more than willing to do so by providing additional services. These services would provide a huge support to Irish patients, for example chronic disease management, health monitoring and heath awareness programmes.

In addition, the Minor Ailment Scheme is another longstanding proposal, which if implemented would allow medical card patients to directly access non-prescription medicines from their pharmacist for ailments such as hay fever, migraine or skin conditions. It would also remove the current obligation for a medical card patient to make a GP appointment, saving precious time for both doctor and patient.

These services are routinely provided by pharmacists in other countries and supported by their health systems, but we’re blocked from doing so in Ireland. If these proposals can be progressed in the near future, it will lead to major improvements in healthcare delivery.

In their recent General Election manifestos, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and the Green Party all pledged to support the expansion of community pharmacy services. We will be holding them to their word and insisting that whichever parties make up the next Government must follow through on their promises. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of not only the hundreds of pharmacies around the country but also to the patients and communities we serve.

Darragh O'Loughlin is secretary general of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU)