A concerted action plan to address the growing shortage of community pharmacists is urgently needed, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has warned.

There are currently 3,800 community pharmacists working across Ireland’s 1,900 community pharmacies. However, demands on this sector are increasing partly due to an ageing population.

The IPU insists that a shortage of pharmacists has the potential to impact patients’ access to pharmacy services.

“The majority of community pharmacists surveyed by the IPU now believe there is an insufficient number of pharmacists in our healthcare system to meet patient needs. This is a dire situation which could develop and has the potential to create profound difficulties for patients. Immediate action needs to be taken to avoid this,” commented IPU president, Dermot Twomey.

He said that these shortages will lead to some pharmacies reducing their hours and services and in some cases, temporary closures may be necessary.

Earlier this week, the  Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English, announced the addition of pharmacists to the Critical Skills Occupation List. This allows for faster access to work permits for these professionals.

Mr Twomey described this move as “official recognition that community pharmacists are now in short supply”.

“After significant IPU engagement with government and across the political spectrum, we are pleased that this change has been made. This will help pharmacies to attract and recruit pharmacists from non-EU countries,” he said.

However, while welcoming the move, he emphasised that this change will not address the root causes of the shortage.

“The causes are noticeably clear. We are simply not training enough pharmacists in this country. There are insufficient third level places to meet the demands of the sector and little has been done to address this.

“There also needs to be put in place a comprehensive plan which utilises fully the clinical skills of our profession in order to attract young graduates to community pharmacy,” Mr Twomey insisted.

He also noted that the profession is “being strangled by red tape and bureaucracy”.

“This is unfortunately leading to an exodus of young well-educated community pharmacists. Filling out forms that provide no benefit to the patient is now a large part of the pharmacist’s day. Were the HSE to address this, it would make the profession more attractive and be an instant boost to retention,” he said.

The IPU is calling for an action plan to be developed and implemented, which would include input from a range of appropriate parties, including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Health Products and Regulatory Authority and higher education.

“What is needed in the medium-term is a clear pathway to get us to a level where an ample number of pharmacists are being educated each year. But before that is feasible, we need to see concerted action to facilitate improved efficiencies within the sector and a reduction in red tape.

“Improvements, such as e-prescribing, which have long been promised, have been dragged out for years. The only changes that seem to come quickly are those that involve more red tape,” Mr Twomey said.

He called on the Minister for Health to take the lead in addressing this critical shortage, warning that hiring colleagues from overseas “is only a short-term solution”.

“The health service will suffer if this is not addressed imminently,” he added.