Call for pharmacist unity
February 20, 2014
Guild ceo David Quilty has
called for a show of unity among
pharmacists.
“The pharmacy sector faces a
clear choice,” he said in forefront,
challenging that, “We can unite and
fight for our collective future by
focussing on our shared interests
and objectives... or we can turn on
each other.”
In the face of severe attacks
on the viability of community
pharmacy, especially the impact
of the expanded & accelerated
price disclosure (EAPD), the
Guild’s recent arrangement with
the federal government to allow
changes to the Fifth Community
Pharmacy Agreement has
generated a flurry of objections
from various pharmacy sectors.
While the new agreement was
announced before consultations
could be undertaken, Quilty
explained, “In fact, in the current
fiscal climate, there was a very real
risk that if these programs were
overrunning their budgets, they
would be discontinued altogether.
“Unfortunately, for reasons
beyond the Guild’s control,” he
continued, “we were unable to
provide a longer lead time between
announcing these changes and
their commencement.
“I readily acknowledge this is
less than ideal for those directly
impacted.
“We had no choice but to work
within the Agreement funding pool.
“Any other decision, including
holding out in the hope for
more money, would only have
inflicted much greater pain on a
larger number of pharmacies and
pharmacists.”
Quilty went on to argue that
while this is a particularly difficult
time for pharmacy to seek funding
from the federal government,
“that shouldn't stop us all from
continuing to put our case as
strongly as possible.”
“United and working together
with the level of passion that
pharmacists regularly display
for their profession, gives us the
best chance of making headway
in the most trying of budgetary
circumstances,” he concluded.
Pharmacy Society of Australia
(PSA) president George Tambassis
has added his voice to the
discussion, saying that he can
“genuinely empathise with any
pharmacists who believe they have
been hard done by in any way
by the Guild, particularly if they
consider their remuneration and
employment prospects have been
impacted in what they feel is an
unfair manner.”
He points out however that after
a HMR budget blowout in March
2013, and a 30% increase in the
budget for the remainder of the
agreement, it placed pressure on
other programs resulting in a tight
budgetary environment with no
flexibility, making sustainability the
only possible focus looking ahead.
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