Story by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
THE fall out of the ongoing dispute between
pharmacists and the HSE has started to be felt in
Inishowen with two local pharmacies confirming this
week that they have not replaced staff members who
have left in recent months.
Pharmacists have said that decision not to replace
the staff members has come as a result of
uncertainty in the sector at present.
Already forty Donegal pharmacies, including a dozen
in Inishowen, have written to the Health Service
Executive stating their intention to withdraw from
their contracts with the body from 1 May.
That means that from 1 May they will no longer
dispense drugs to the public under the general
medical card scheme and the drugs repayment scheme
will cease. Currently, patients only pay the first
€90 of their monthly drugs bill with the remainder
recouped by the pharmacists from the HSE.
“The HSE are trumpeting increased fees under the new
contract, but the fact that the contract can be
amended by the HSE with only three months notice
gives us no security,” said Declan Mulholland of
Duffy’s pharmacy in Buncrana.
“The banks won’t touch me or any other pharmacist in
circumstances like that. If I knew then what I know
now, I wouldn’t have opened my new premises in
SuperValu. It is not financially viable under the
new contract,” he said.
Local Pharmacists are unhappy with the new contract
proposed by the HSE under which the authorities can
change the terms and conditions – including fees
paid – with just three months’ notice. Pharmacists
are also unhappy that the HSE has refused to
negotiate with their representative body, the Irish
Pharmacy Union.
While the Department of Health negotiated previous
contacts with the IPU during the 1990s, the HSE
claims that the Competition Acts preclude it from
negotiating in this instance.
The country’s Pharmacists however have said that
they have borrowed an estimated €1 billion to buy
and develop their businesses.
“The new contract leaves out my professional body,
the IPU,” said Paul McNeill of the Carn Pharmacy.
“As it stands, the contract is not reasonable. We
need an improved contract from the HSE and one that
gives our union proper recognition. Give us
representation and I’ll sign the contract.”
Recognising that the drugs bill for the State has
increased substantially in recent years, Declan
Mulholland said that the IPU approached the HSE five
years ago to address the issue. “We actually reached
agreement on 15 October last, only for the HSE to
pull out of it the following day,” he said.
“We want a return to that agreement.”
Describing the new contract as one that does not
take account of the difficulties faced by rural
pharmacies, he compared the circumstances here with
those in Norway where 1,000 chemists have closed in
the last ten years to be replaced by a two pharmacy
chains. Many smaller towns and rural areas are now
without a local pharmacy, Mr. McNeill said. |
