A chronic lack of qualified pharmacists, coupled with ongoing Covid-related absences among staff, has resulted in some pharmacies having to reduce their hours or close on certain days, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has warned.

It conducted a survey of over 1,000 pharmacists which revealed that more than half of pharmacies have had at least one open pharmacist vacancy in the last year and more than one-third of these vacancies remained open for between six and 12 months.

The survey also found that at least 20% of pharmacies are relying on pharmacist locums to stay open.

The IPU insisted that Irish pharmacies are struggling due to “a chronic lack of qualified pharmacists available to work in community pharmacies”, which is negatively impacting the level of service that can be delivered.

“This is placing pharmacists under immense strain and we are also spending too much time on administrative tasks due to endless red tape which is compounding this issue. If we can’t increase the supply of qualified pharmacists, the sector will be unable to keep up with demand and patient care will suffer,” commented IPU president, Dermot Twomey.

Among the pharmacists surveyed, 42% were first registered in the UK. The IPU said that this high percentage of pharmacists qualifying outside the Irish jurisdiction “is a significant concern and highlights the glaring lack of places for students to study pharmacy here in Ireland”.

Furthermore, the survey revealed that the number of pharmacists who trained outside of the EU and then chose to work in Ireland is low. The IPU recommends that the registration process for non-EU pharmacists to facilitate them working in Ireland is expedited as a priority.

“The fact of the matter is that Ireland is simply not training enough pharmacists. Half of those who work in the sector today were forced to train overseas. This is untenable in a modern healthcare system,” Mr Twomey said.

He noted that the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, has implemented additional places for medical students.

“He should now do likewise for pharmacists and other allied healthcare professionals. We are again calling on Minister Harris to make more spaces available in Ireland’s universities for pharmacy students,” Mr Twomey added.