Minister must act more decisively to solve pharmacy consultation row

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 7th Oct 2008

Alliance Health Spokesperson Kieran McCarthy MLA

Alliance Health Spokesperson Kieran McCarthy MLA has called on the Health Minister to act more strongly and decisively to resolve the dispute which is denying most people in Northern Ireland health consultations at their local pharmacy. Many pharmacies refused to provide the consultation service following a contractual dispute which is still ongoing.

The Opposition MLA said: "Currently most people in Northern Ireland have no access to pharmacy consultations in their area because there is a dispute regarding payments for the service. The Minister must resolve this issue as quickly as possible because this is a vital service and takes pressure off the already strained GPs surgeries.

"I wrote to the Minister about this crisis. In his response it appears that he is taking little action to resolve this problem. The Minister said he simply hoped that the pharmacies that will not accept the current condition will reconsider. This is simply not enough. The Minister must take a more pro-active approach to solving this dispute.

"I do not think that the public will be happy with the current situation, so I would call on the Minister to push more strongly on this issue."

ENDS