THE Federal Govt and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia are back at the table to negotiate and sign off on the 8th Community Pharmacy Agreement by 01 Mar 2024, the Guild National President Trent Twomey told a packed audience at its Annual Parliamentary Dinner in Canberra last night.
Welcoming the Federal Health Minister Mark Butler (pictured right) in what was seen as a clear reconciliation after the acrimonious fallout post the introduction of 60-Day Dispensing, Twomey (pictured left) said, "after our public disagreements, we both want the same thing, a CPA implemented by 01 Mar 2024, a thriving and sustainable community pharmacy industry that can get back to carefully looking after their patients instead of looking over their shoulder and worrying about the viability of their profession".
Twomey reminded Butler that to achieve the Mar deadline "there needs to be a little less conversation and a little more action, and if we're to meet the deadline set, which I know we both want to now, as we have been meeting weekly for many, many months, I am happy to increase the pace, as the negotiations are simply too important".
Butler added, "we remain deeply committed to that objective but recognise that these are challenging negotiations up against a challenging timeline". JG
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Nov 23
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 15 Nov 23
