Pharmacists are warning that the medical card scheme could collapse and 5,000 jobs could be at risk nationally if cuts to the payments schemes such as the HSE proposed last year were reintroduced.
Last March the HSE reduced pharmacists’ payments by 24 per cent. However, the High Court ruled these cuts were a breach of contract and payments were reinstated.
Tuam pharmacist Darragh O’Loughlin says pharmacists are prepared to play their part in achieving savings during the economic downturn.
“We can help the Government make savings of €85m on its medicines bill and these savings, if accepted, would not have such a catastrophic impact on employment and patient care.”
In a recent submission to the Department of Health and Children, the Irish Pharmacy Union, the representative body for more than 1,900 pharmacists, warned the job losses would mean increased social welfare payments and the loss of tax revenue. This would cancel out the savings that the Government sought to achieve through the cuts in the first instance.
“In relation to the risk the misguided HSE cuts poses to the medical card scheme the Union highlighted that the scheme is already underfunded by the State. Pharmacists had been subsidising this scheme with profits from other elements of the business, such as sales of cosmetics and perfumes. However, this is no longer a viable situation as pharmacies have been hit by an 18 per cent drop in non-medicine retail sales due to the economic downturn.”
The IPU also stated it accepted the urgent need to control public spending in the current environment. It said it would be a willing partner with the Government to help to curb the growing medicines bill by the greater use of generic medicines and the reduction of wastage of medicines and other agreed savings.
