Pharmacists threatened with court action
The bitter row over pharmacy fees escalated tonight as health chiefs warned protesting pharmacists they could face court action if they fail to adhere to State contracts.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said it had written to a small number of pharmacies informing them it may seek High Court injunctions forcing them to dispense prescriptions again.
Pharmacies across the country closed or stopped providing drugs to medical card holders on Saturday in an intensifying dispute with the Government over the payment of fees.
Patrick Burke, head of the HSE’s primary care reimbursement scheme, said it was writing to pharmacies which had closed or were refusing to fill prescriptions under State drug schemes.
“If we do not receive a satisfactory response we will have no other option than to seek to enforce our legal rights on behalf of taxpayers through the courts,” he said.
“We will also be seeking all costs associated with this remedy.
“While this is not an avenue we want to pursue, we have responsibilities to the public to ensure that they can get access to their medication.”
According to the HSE almost 500, or just under a quarter of all chemists, have withdrawn from the State scheme, while around 1,100 are still operating.
Despite setting up nine emergency dispensaries and offering transport to alternative pharmacies, the HSE’s contingency plans came under fire as operating chemists claimed they were being forced to turn people away.
Bernard Duggan of the Employee Pharmacists Committee, which represents registered pharmacists working for chains, said: “Some of these pharmacists have stopped accepting prescriptions and closed their doors due to their unacceptable and dangerous workloads, so as to avoid a serious dispensing error occurring.”
He added: “These pharmacies do not have the resources at their disposal to deal with this.”
The drug dispensing dispute centres on Health Minister Mary Harney’s attempts to reduce the cost of prescription medicine in Ireland.
Government health chiefs maintain the cost of dispensing under the Medical Card Scheme and the Drugs Payments Scheme has doubled since 2002 to more than €1.6bn in 2008 – with fees and other income earned by pharmacists also doubling.
The minister maintained that cuts to be imposed from last Saturday will slash payments to pharmacists by 24%, but stressed they will continue to earn high margins on prescriptions similar to what was paid in 2006 and 2007.
But the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) claimed the figures do not add up and its members will be hit with an unsustainable 34% cut.
Jan O’Sullivan, Labour Party Health spokeswoman, called on Ms Harney to intervene and organise mediation between the parties concerned.
“It is time for Minister Harney to knock heads together and get it sorted,” she said.
“The responsibility to ensure that elderly and sick people continue to get their medication is one that must be shared between the minister, the HSE and the pharmacists.
“The pharmacists have already indicated a willingness to talk and it is now up to Minister Harney to get that ball rolling as a matter of extreme urgency.”
