Government urged to reconsider pharmacy charges for blister packs

The Government have been asked to reconsider its plans for pharmacies to charge people for blister packs.

Pharmacists could be charging patients €20 to dispense medication in blister packs from January, a charge previously covered by the State.

Until now, phased dispensing has allowed older people and those with mobility, memory, or reading difficulties to receive their tablets in blister packs or trays, making it easier and safer to take the right medication every day.

ALONE, a charity which supports older people, will have supported nearly 46,000 older people through its services by the end of this year.

The charity said 96 per cent of the people they help take daily medication, and one in three report financial challenges.

26 per cent of older people in Ireland live alone, and 13 per cent experience income poverty; a figure that would have risen to 21 per cent without recent cost-of-living supports.

Seán Moynihan, CEO of ALONE, said “Older people already face significant financial and health challenges. Introducing new costs for blister packs will put them at risk of medication errors and poorer health outcomes.

"Between 10 per cent and up to one-third of all older people’s hospital admissions are already linked to over- or under-adherence to medication.

"Adding financial barriers will only worsen this situation. We urge the Government to re-engage with the Irish Pharmacy Union to ensure older people are not burdened with costs they cannot afford.”