Hundreds of pharmacies across the country are due to withdraw from the State drug schemes tomorrow in a dispute over the fees they receive for dispensing medication.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said it believed up to 900 pharmacies would continue to provide services under the schemes, but it had put in place contingency plans to minimise any inconvenience.
The pharmacists are withdrawing from the schemes, including medical cards and the drug payment scheme, in protest at cuts in fees and payments of €133 million introduced by the Government.
A HSE spokeswoman said that as of midday today, the number of valid notices it had received from community pharmacists planning to terminate their agreement to operate the State schemes stood at 726. Customers whose usual pharmacy would no longer be participating in the State drug scheme could take their prescription to any participating pharmacy, she added.
Under its contingency plan, the HSE has put in place alternative dispensing facilities in 10 locations in counties Roscommon, Donegal, Mayo and Kerry. A further two facilities – in Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim and Falcarragh, Co Donegal – are on standby but will not operate from tomorrow.
In a statement, the HSE asked pharmacies which had chosen to withdraw from the scheme to identify to the local HSE pharmacist those patients who may require extra supports. “Those with friends or relatives who may have difficulty travelling to an alternative pharmacy or getting access to their medicines should think ahead and plan where they can help them to get their medicines,” the statement added.
Laverne McGuinness, the HSE’s national director of primary, continuing and community care, said the executive would continue to provide essential medication to the public under the State drugs schemes. While the pharmacy network provided a crucial and highly professional service, she said the cost of the schemes to taxpayers could not be sustained.
“It is now approaching €2 billion annually and we must continue to put in place efficiency measures to address these escalating costs,” she said. “Given the number of pharmacies who will continue to participate in the State drug schemes we believe that, with the support of family, friends, neighbours, GPs and local health services, the inconvenience can be minimised.”
However, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) warned that patients were now facing an “intolerable situation” and claimed the HSE’s contingency plans were “totally inadequate.”
IPU president Liz Hoctor suggested that under the HSE’s contingency plan, pharmacy cover in areas such as Waterford, Wexford, Cavan, Donegal, Kerry, Connemara and Mayo would be inadequate and that this could lead to “dangerous situations.”
In response to calls for a mediator to be appointed, Ms Hoctor said the IPU was “willing to engage in an attempt to resolve matters.” She said she deeply regretted any distress caused to patients who would be adversely affected by the situation, and that pharmacists’ decision to withdraw from the drugs schemes was taken with the “utmost reluctance.”
She said community pharmacists had been forced into the situation by Minister for Health Mary Harney’s “unilateral decision to impose a disproportionate and unsustainable 34 per cent cut in pharmacy payments for providing advice and medicines to patients on community drug schemes.”
Further information, including a full list of pharmacies participating in the State drugs schemes, is available on the HSE website, www.hse.ie, and by phoning the HSE information line on 1850 24 1850.
