I am the president of the IPU. I am accompanied by Mr. Darragh O'Loughlin, vice president, Mr. Keith O'Hourihane, chairman of the community pharmacy committee, and Ms Pamela Logan, director of pharmacy services. We are also joined in the public gallery by Mr. Seamus Feely, secretary general, and Ms Kate Healy, press and communications manager. I thank the committee for giving the IPU the opportunity to address it on the subject of primary medical care in the community and to discuss how community pharmacies can deliver on Government health care priorities and achieve true value for money.
People visit their community pharmacy, on average, twice a month. That makes pharmacies the most accessible and visited part of the health service and pharmacists are, therefore, in a unique position to provide an enhanced primary medical care service to people in the community. The primary role of the pharmacist is to improve health outcomes by safely dispensing medicines and advising patients on how to get the optimum benefit from them. Patients do not need an appointment to see their pharmacists and, in addition to dispensing medicines, pharmacists respond to millions of requests for advice from patients each year. In 2007, pharmacists provided 15 million items of advice on minor health problems. However, there is considerable scope to develop the current level of professional services delivered by community pharmacists into a more comprehensive, structured and organised service to the community.
The proposals we made in our written submission of 31 October 2008 are consistent with Government policy such as the Department of Health and Children policy framework for the management of chronic disease and also international policy such as the Tallinn charter. Treating patients in primary care is much more efficient and leads to a better quality of life. One example would be to empower patients in self-management of chronic diseases. Patients visit their pharmacy on average twice a month and that means for patients with such diseases the health care professional they see most frequently is their local community pharmacist who is, therefore, ideally placed to deal with problems as they arise and prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital. This would be done in collaboration with GPs and other health care professional involved in the patients' treatment.
In tougher economic times it makes sense to use an existing resource — community pharmacy — to its maximum potential. The community pharmacy network is an underutilised resource and, if enabled, can provide more services to patients in the community within the primary care setting with a view to keeping patients out of hospital and helping to maintain a good quality of life while living independently in their own communities. That also brings benefits to the Exchequer.
On Monday, the IPU published a review of community pharmacy in Ireland 2007 report. It was produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and it estimated the advice and services provided by pharmacists to patients across the country in 2007 removed the need for 3.9 million visits to GPs and more than 500,000 accident and emergency department attendances. The estimated value of these pharmacy services, which are not directly remunerated by the Exchequer, is approximately €460 million. Patients need better services and health outcomes and the Government continues to seek better value for money, better adherence to medicines, reduced wastage and improved quality of life by focusing on prevention and early detection of diseases. In this context, the union has advocated the introduction of the following cost saving initiatives for a number of years: the medicines use review; a minor ailments scheme; structured health promotion services; health screening services; and generic substitution.
Patients' needs are evolving and, therefore, we must use existing resources to their maximum potential and the community pharmacy network is an underutilised resource which, if enabled, can provide much needed services to patients in their community. The union recognises the need to maximise efficiencies, particularly in these difficult economic times, and we look forward to engaging with the committee in facilitating the roll-out of health care services through primary care.
However, the HSE outlined to the committee yesterday its view of the development of primary care services in the community. Officials stated it was their aim to provide the public with easier access to the right care in the right place at the right time aiming to provide 90% of care within their communities or homes. We fully support that strategy but we have strong reservations about their approach to the implementation of these services, as there seems to be much focus on the provision of buildings rather than on the co-ordination of services across the wider community health care network, which are focused on meeting the needs of the patients. I ask the committee to consider this issue in coming to conclusions on the matter. We are happy to answer questions members may have on our submission.