Pharmacies will open on Monday and Wednesday evenings

The dialogue between the ministry of Health and the pharmacists regarding the opening up of the profession is taking a gloomy turn, with the rough spot being the issue of working hours.

The new suggestion by the ministry for a extended timetable so that pharmacies remain open on Saturday as well as Monday and Wednesday evenings, finds pharmacists in opposition and stating that any agreement for the opening up of their sector cannot be made piecemeal and that it entails discussions on a specific package of measures.
 
Closing… the opening up of the pharmacist profession

The multibill that will encompass all the crucial regulations for the opening up of the sector, which by the way is a commitment on the part of the government tothe memorandum, will be issued in Parliament at the end of next week.

However, in the next two days the leadership of the ministry of Health awaits the crucial observations of the EC regarding the «thorns» that have resulted from the dialogue with the 12.000 pharmacy owners in our country. It’s the 3rd letter expected to be received by the minister from the general director of the EC, Servaas Deroose, which will address this issue.
 

The ministry of Health is determined to extend the working hours

This issue has been the cause of friction between pharmacists and the ministry from the start. Pharmacists have been opposed to the ministry proposal for an initial operation of all pharmacies on Saturday and leaving the choice to the owner whether to open or not. They counter the proposal by claiming that at 25% capacity in each area, the sector will run satisfactorily and the citizens will be served well.

However, Loverdos seems bent on extended opening hours for pharmacies. As he stated in yesterday’s interview «I am ready for objections and tensions, which however will not prevent the progress of our country».

According to sources, so far the observations of Desoose are giving the go-ahead to the minister to complete the controversial regulations.  

Indeed, it is very positive that he has reached an agreement regarding the issue of co-location of pharmacies and the establishment of a tiered rebate to be reimbursed according to the turnover of a pharmacy.
 
Pharmacists oppose the extended timetable

The pharmacists profess shock on one hand and opposition on the other. «This is a new issue in the discussions with the ministry. However, we have been asking repeatedly but to no avail for a specific package of measures based on which the dialogue will take place», says the president of the Pan-Hellenic Association of Pharmacists, Theodoros Ampatzoglou. According to him, there is an issue with the citizen protection. This, as he explains, is because the on-call and overnight rosters get circumvented by the new timetable. «A pharmacist cannot work ceaselessly. Their responsibility is big because they administer medications which are invaluable for people's health. They are not working in a department store, as some might think, and this is why it is important to conserve their energy», Ampatzoglou added.