Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1657. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health his views on the shortage of retail pharmacists in Ireland; and if he has made representations to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science with a view to developing a strategy to increase the number of persons qualifying as retail pharmacists. [42561/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThank you for raising this issue. This is a complex problem with many contributing factors and multiple stakeholders. Workforce challenges are being experienced in other sectors nationally, and in the pharmacy sector in a range of other countries. However, robust data for Ireland is needed to be able to determine the current landscape, assess future health system needs and understand existing sectoral challenges now and into the future.
I understand that currently there are reports of a current acute workforce issue, particularly in relation to community pharmacy. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has been liaising with stakeholders, including the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), on efforts being taken within the sector to understand and address the issue.
In February 2022, PSI met with a number of superintendent pharmacists and the IPU. The PSI also circulated a survey on behalf of the IPU to all registrants to support efforts to understand and address the issue in the short term. The fieldwork on the research was undertaken online by the IPU between 22 March and 8 April 2022. The results of which have just been finalised and recommendations have been prepared by the IPU based on their findings. The report is currently under review by the Department of Health who will continue to liaise with relevant stakeholders on this matter.
In developing its Corporate Strategy 2021-2023, the PSI was aware, through its role as the pharmacy regulator as well as through reports from stakeholders, of an increasing risk to the continued availability of a pharmacist workforce. This highlighted a need to focus on community and hospital pharmacy, with a concern being that the issue might be exacerbated into the future. The PSI are currently undertaking a project, due to run across 2022-’23, titled ‘Emerging Risks to the Future Pharmacy Workforce’. This project is set to “assess emerging risks to the continued availability of a professional pharmacy workforce within community and hospital pharmacy in Ireland”.
The European Commission is also currently supporting a health and social care workforce planning strategy and action plan, a health and social care workforce planning model, health and social care workforce projections and gap analysis project. Support includes recommendations for health and social care workforce reforms.
There are currently three Schools of Pharmacy within universities in Ireland – TCD, RCSI and UCC who each provide an accredited five-year fully integrated Master’s degree programme in pharmacy (MPharm). On successful completion of the five-year programme, graduates are then eligible to apply to the PSI for registration through the National Route of registration. As part of their Emerging Risks to the Future Pharmacy Workforce project, PSI have committed to share any relevant data emerging as part of that project with relevant Government departments, along with relevant first-time registration data with the relevant Government departments, particularly if trends are identified that indicate a future deficit.
It will be on the basis of gathering and analysing up-to-date, robust and relevant data, that recommendations can be proposed to address Ireland’s needs for a pharmacist workforce in the future, as Ireland’s healthcare system evolves, and in the context of Sláintecare implementation. I will engage as necessary with government colleagues in addressing relevant issues as they arise.
