Pharmacists are providing more services and dispensing more medicines than ever before, yet the payments they receive from the HSE continue to decline, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has said.

This “impossible trend” needs to be tackled in the upcoming budget, the IPU insisted.

According to the union’s head of contract, Derek Reilly, pharmacies play an integral role in local communities and with 1.5 million visits every week, “they are the most accessed part of our health service”. However they are coming under increasing financial pressure.

“Nine out of every 10 pharmacies are family-owned businesses. They operate on tight margins and share the struggles of any other small business. However, unique to our sector is the importance of state-run schemes to our viability.

“Pharmacies are paid by the HSE to dispense medicines to medical card patients and this essential service simply could not exist without the cooperation of pharmacies. However, the payments we receive for providing this service have been declining and are now at an unsustainable rate,” he explained.

Mr Reilly pointed out that since 2009, the number of medicines dispensed in pharmacies annually through this Primary Care Reimbursement Services (PCRS) scheme, has increased significantly.

“In 2021, there were almost 82 million prescription items, an increase of 19% in 12 years. However successive cuts in the fees pharmacists can charge, from an average of €6 in 2009 to just €4.74 last year, put pharmacies in a precarious position. Over that time, we have seen average revenues in pharmacies decrease by 6%, but costs are soaring, powered by an 18% increase in staff costs in the last decade,” he noted.

The IPU is calling on the government to introduce a new flat dispensing fee of €6.50 per item in Budget 2023. This “modest increase” would help secure the financial future of many pharmacies nationwide, Mr Reilly insisted.

The IPU also expressed concern about the increasing shortage of pharmacists.

 “The length of time it is taking to fill pharmacist vacancies is becoming an increasing concern for the sector. We need the government to support greater levels of training at home by funding more third level places for pharmacy students. In the short-term, the pharmacy regulator, the PSI, should be adequately resourced to ensure it can rapidly facilitate the registration of non-EU pharmacists to avoid any delays,” Mr Reilly said.

Meanwhile, the IPU has also called for negotiations to start on the introduction of a new contract for community pharmacists, as the current contract is “hopelessly out of date”.

“More than a quarter of a century old, it no longer reflects the nature of a modern pharmacy. Reform of this contract has been a commitment of successive governments and successive ministers for health. Now, more than two years into the lifetime of this government, we have seen no actions towards a new contract,” Mr Reilly pointed out.

He also called on the government to “embrace the tremendous potential of the pharmacy sector”, noting that a range of new clinical services could be introduced in pharmacies to support the health service, such as providing contraception without a prescription.