A new school of pharmacy is urgently needed in Ireland as not enough pharmacists are currently being trained to keep up with healthcare and sector demands, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has said.

In order to qualify as a pharmacist in this country, a person must study for five years to obtain a masters level qualification. Currently, pharmacy courses are offered in just three third level institutions in Ireland – Trinity College Dublin, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin and University College Cork.

Just 165 pharmacists were trained in 2020 and the IPU insists that this is insufficient.

“Ireland has just over 6,700 registered pharmacists. Annually we are training just 2.4% of that number. This is simply not enough and is leading to major problems for community pharmacies across the country. At this rate, the sector will soon be unable to cope with retirements, let alone the pressures caused by our growing population that is increasingly older, as well as greater demands on the sector as a whole,” commented IPU president, Dermot Twomey.

He said that for too long, Ireland has relied on the UK and other countries to train our healthcare workers, especially pharmacists. However, the UK is now also experiencing a shortfall of an estimated 3,000 community pharmacists, which will inevitably have an impact here too.

“Brexit and the challenges of Covid have also highlighted how unsustainable outsourcing education is. We cannot expect other countries to fill the gaps of our education system any longer, particularly for skills essential to our healthcare system,” Mr Twomey noted.

The IPU is calling for the urgent establishment of a new school of pharmacy to meet the demands of the sector and Ireland’s healthcare needs.

“The problem is plain to see but so is the solution. Establishing a new school of pharmacy at one of our many excellent third level institutions could have a dramatic effect on the sector. This could also help reduce the CAO points requirements, allowing more young people interested in a career in pharmacy to achieve that goal,” Mr Twomey pointed out.

The IPU said that pharmacists are playing an increasingly important role in community care, especially as a result GP shortages in many areas.

“Pharmacists are increasingly providing additional services such as vaccinations, smoking cessation therapy and diabetes and blood pressure monitoring. With fewer GPs available nationwide, pharmacists are doing more and proud to be doing so, but if there aren’t enough pharmacists, a reduction in services is inevitable,” Mr Twomey warned.

The IPU added that if this issue is not dealt with now, “it will be a major problem in the years ahead”.