Enact flu vaccine changes now, urges union

REGULATIONS TO allow pharmacists to administer the seasonal flu vaccine must be brought forward this week to meet demand for the annual inoculation, the Irish Pharmacists Union has said.

Darragh O’Loughlin, president of the union, said pharmacists had done all that was required of them in preparation for administering the vaccine. The regulations needed to be enacted “almost immediately”, he said.

Seasonal flu vaccinations should ideally be given in late September and early October, according to HSE guidelines.

Minister for Health James Reilly said last week that the regulations were being drafted.

These would “place beyond doubt the right of registered pharmacists to administer seasonal influenza vaccination to patients”, he said.

The changes could save the State between €5 million and €13 million a year and also lead to an increased uptake of the vaccine, the Minister said. It could also lead to a reduction in hospital admissions.

Pharmacists have undertaken HSE-approved training to administer the vaccine and have set up a notification mechanism.

Last Friday, they were offered a fee of €15 to administer the vaccine to medical card holders on behalf of the HSE.

The fee covers pre-vaccination counselling of patients, any assistance required after the injection, and the maintenance of records and submission of necessary returns to the HSE.

GPs had been paid about €42 for providing the service.

Mr O’Loughlin said his members had not yet had time to consider the HSE’s offer. He also said he did not know what individual pharmacists would charge private patients for the vaccine.

Meanwhile, GPs have raised concerns about the changes. In a letter to the Department of Health the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents GPs, said that it had no “contractual obligations” to assist pharmacists with any “pre- and post-vaccination issues” that may arise, including for example any side effects of a vaccination.

How such services were procured was a matter for pharmacists, the letter said.

“Stakeholders should not make the erroneous assumption that GPs have any obligations in this regard.”

It acknowledged GPs would have a professional responsibility to assist a patient in need of acute intervention, but this was not to be interpreted as a contractual obligation.

The letter also noted that the flu vaccine was a prescription-only product. “In such circumstances, the IMO has sought clarification . . . as to the statutory basis upon which the Minister will make regulation . . .”