A chara, – This forced pharmacy crisis is disgraceful. The pressure put on the elderly and on those dependent on prescribed drugs is huge.
As the mother of a young man in the advanced stages of MS, it is totally unjust to subject us to such pressure. Other members of my family who are ill are under the same pressure. Consider this one family with four members relying on their local pharmacy and you get some idea of the thousands of vulnerable people who are frightened and bewildered by this crisis.
Our local pharmacist is totally frustrated by the inaction of the Minister for Health.
For five years the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has been trying to resolve this current impasse. Minister for Health Mary Harney should know that jaw-jaw is better than war war. She should talk to the IPU. – Is mise,
Madam, – The current row between the HSE and the IPU has highlighted the future of the current retail pharmacy business model.
Considering that all non-prescription pharmacy products can easily be bought over the counter in a local forecourt or convenience store, the prescription dispensary model is the only differentiating element.
The Department of Health/HSE should dispense with the dispensary and empower the GP directly to give out the prescription, cutting out costs, time, and overall recovery time. – Yours, etc,