Latest news with #TomMurray
RTÉ News
02-06-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
87% of pharmacies sign up to free HRT scheme
The President of the Irish Pharmacy Union has said 87% of pharmacies had signed up to the free hormone replacement therapy (HRT) scheme as of Friday afternoon. Tom Murray said that he anticipated more pharmacies will have signed up over the weekend and into next week, and that it will eventually reach 100% coverage. Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a treatment that involves taking hormones to address menopausal symptoms, and which can help to manage related health conditions. Pharmacies were set to start providing free HRT for women from 1 June after an agreement with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill last month. The IPU endorsed the scheme following Government commitments including a review of the pharmacy fee structure. Mr Murray said that pharmacists have always wanted to support women's health and want improved access to women's health. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that previous issues that were putting pharmacists off signing up for the scheme had been resolved. He acknowledged the Minister for Health for moving this forward and making it free. Mr Murray advised non-medical card holders to sign up for the drug payment scheme to get the medicine, and for women interested in finding out more about the scheme to speak to their pharmacist.
The Journal
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Health minister and pharmacists break impasse over free HRT scheme
PHARMACISTS AND THE Minister for Health have broken an impasse over how the new scheme for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will be delivered, clearing the way for the scheme to commence next month. HRT used to relieve symptoms of menopause, perimenopause and postmenopause will be available for free at participating pharmacies from 1 June, with a pharmacy dispensing fee of €5 per item. Pharmacies that sign up to the scheme will be supplied with a €2,000 once-off grant for transition arrangements such as upgrading their ICT systems. The Irish Pharmacy Union had previously argued that a €5 dispensing fee was too low and called for it to be raised to at least €6.50, and pharmacists said they wouldn't join the scheme because they couldn't afford to at the proposed dispensing fee. However, after talks between the union and the Department of Health, both sides hve confirmed today that the union has endorsed a revised version of the scheme. Advertisement The dispensing fee is still set at €5 but the once-off grant was raised from €1,000 to €2,000, and the department has agreed to several further commitments, including a review of pharmacy fees. The new framework agreement between the IPU, Department of Health and the HSE also includes government commitments to reduce administrative burdens on pharmacies and support their digitisation. And another key item is the expansion of pharmacy services, such as enabling pharmacists to authorise certain prescription medications for patients. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said that with IPU's support for the scheme, she 'anticipates that every pharmacy will now sign up'. 'I hugely welcome the contribution pharmacists make to women's health and to our health services. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the sector in the coming weeks and months,' she said. IPU President Tom Murray described the framework as the 'most comprehensive commitment to the future of Irish pharmacy in decades'. 'Our main priority with the HRT Scheme has been to ensure women receive the medication they need without cost. We are endorsing the scheme in good faith, backed by the broader commitments in this framework, including a review of the pharmacy fee structure,' Murray said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Free HRT for women to be widely available in pharmacies from June 1 after talks breakthrough
The breakthrough, which will lead to women saving €30 to €70 a month, came after the Department of Health announced it was ready to enter talks with pharmacists on their wider demands around expanded services and improvement in fees paid to them under State schemes such as for medical card holders. It paves the way for the free HRT scheme, which was opposed by the IPU last month because they said the €5 dispensing fee was unsustainable, to now go ahead. Women who are prescribed HRT will receive the product entirely free at their pharmacy from June 1 as long as the pharmacist signs up. Not all pharmacists are obliged to sign up to the scheme but the endorsement of the IPU will mean a greater spread of pharmacies participating. President of the IPU Tom Murray said today: 'Our main priority with the HRT scheme has been to ensure women receive the medication they need without cost. We are endorsing the scheme in good faith, backed by the broader commitments in this framework, including a review of the pharmacy fee structure has welcomed commencement of talks under a new framework agreement with the Department of Health and HSE aimed at securing the sustainable future of pharmacy services' Earlier, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill published a Framework of Engagement to support the commencement of focused talks between the State and the IPU on State contract services including fees. She said that 'recognising a shared commitment to conclude talks and reach a timely agreed outcome, these talks will take place over the next three months, with the first meeting scheduled next Wednesday.' Commenting on the decision of the IPU to lift opposition to the HRT scheme she said: 'The arrangement will include a pharmacy dispensing fee of €5 per HRT item, and a €2,000 once-off grant to each participating community pharmacy to support transition arrangements including ICT system upgrades. She added: 'I am delighted that the women of Ireland will be able to receive their HRT medication completely free of charge in participating pharmacies from June 1, 2025. 'With the full support of the IPU for the free HRT scheme, I anticipate that every pharmacy will now sign up, which I warmly welcome. ADVERTISEMENT 'Our pharmacists and community pharmacies are pillars of the community. They are the most accessible healthcare profession and are hugely trusted by the public. 'I hugely welcome the contribution pharmacists make to women's health and to our health services. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the sector in the coming weeks and months.' Clare Fitzell, newly appointed Secretary General of the IPU, also welcomed the framework. 'We are encouraged by the ambition and scope of this framework and look forward to collaborating with the Department of Health and HSE on its implementation. 'However, time is critical. Pharmacies have highlighted the growing pressures of the current funding model for years, and each month of delay compounds this challenge. It's imperative that this framework progresses into a fully formed contractual agreement without delay. We therefore acknowledge and welcome the intention for the process to be completed within three months ahead of the busy winter season.' She concluded: 'We thank the Minister for Health for her personal commitment to realising the potential of pharmacists' professional role, and our wider role in community healthcare delivery. The IPU will remain fully engaged in ensuring its swift and effective conclusion.'
BreakingNews.ie
10-05-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Significant increase in medicine shortages, with pharmacists expecting situation to worsen
More than half of pharmacists have claimed that shortages in medicines have "significantly increased", while 78 per cent still expect the situation to worsen over the next 12 months. A survey, conducted between March and April by the Irish Pharmacy Union revealed 83 per cent borrow stock from other pharmacies to ensure continuity of care. Advertisement Pharmacists and their teams now spend over six hours per week managing shortages, the survey reported. President of the Irish Pharmacy Union Tom Murray told Newstalk that the situation is serious. "It's quite serious for pharmacists, but it's more serious for patients, because at the end of the day, the patients are the people that count, and in key areas like HRT, the GLP-1 agonists for weight loss and diabetes, and adhd significantly, there are serious shortages," he said. "There's approximately 400 medicines commonly used medicines in Ireland that are short at the moment." Mr Murray also told Newstalk that pharmacists should be given the authority to prescribe an alternative treatment. "If you go along the lines of HRT, where the patches have been routinely out of stock, a pharmacist could well easily substitute that to some of the gels, but we're not allowed to without referring back to the practitioner, the general practitioner. "If we have one penicillin that's written on a prescription and that penicillin is out of stock, we have to refer the patient back," he said.
National Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
247connect Makes Remote Desktop Access Simple and Affordable!
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