News - Page 7

Remove Unnecessary Barriers say Pharmacists

Pharmacists are calling for the removal of unnecessary barriers for people attempting to quit smoking, by ensuring that medical card holders are no longer required to attend a GP prior to being supplied with Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) at their pharmacy.

Dermot Twomey, President, Irish Pharmacy Union

NRT is an effective approach to reduce the physical symptoms associated with quitting smoking. However, while NRT is available in pharmacies nationwide since 2014, medical card holders that cannot afford to pay the cost of the NRT are still unable to access this vital treatment directly from their pharmacies.

In order for medical card holders to access this treatment under the medical card scheme, they are required to visit a GP to obtain a GMS prescription that will entitle them to source the treatment from their local pharmacy. This creates an unnecessary barrier for wouldbe quitters. There is no practical reason for this barrier to remain in place.

Community pharmacist and IPU President, Dermot Twomey says, “The rate of smoking has fallen steadily over the past five years in Ireland, and we must commend those who have given up smoking. However, 18% of the Irish population are smokers, with those aged 45 to 54 the most likely to smoke. This still paints a worrying picture, and it is clear we need to think differently about how we support people who want to quit smoking.”

Smoking rates are higher for those who are unemployed (38%) than those in employment (18%). They are also higher among those who have not completed the Leaving Certificate (22%) than those with a Leaving Certificate or higher (17%).

Mr Twomey continued, “NRT is proven to work and can significantly improve the chances that an attempt to quit will be successful. Unfortunately, medical card patients must go through their GP to access this treatment. At a time where GP shortages across the country have made it increasingly difficult to get an appointment, this is creating an unnecessary barrier for would-be quitters. There is no reason why a medical card patient should require a prescription to access NRT and this arbitrary rule is preventing Ireland from lowering its smoking rates.”

LloydsPharmacy – In Business Excellence

The 2021 InBUSINESS Recognition Awards were recently awarded at a gala luncheon ceremony in the prestigious Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin. The annual awards hosted by Chambers Ireland acknowledge outstanding accomplishments in the Irish business community. Winners are chosen, based on the broad criteria of business growth, profile of business, range of services and customer care.

LloydsPharmacy has for the third time in a four-year period been an outright winner in the Retail Excellence award category, with a continuous focus on providing patients and their families with the very best advice and support for all their health and wellbeing needs. Throughout the pandemic, LloydsPharmacy continued to offer the best in advice and patient care to customers across Ireland throughout 91 stores and online at loydspharmacy.ie.

This Award signifies LloydsPharmacy’s continued strategic focus on providing excellent customer service and continued investment in training, digitalisation and new service offerings instore and online.

LloydsPharmacy highly trained staff across Ireland are always on hand and open to discussing patient needs and answering any queries that customers may have. LloydsPharmacy staff undergo regular patient training to ensure they are providing the upmost highest standard in care and advice.

While recent online investment from LloydsPharmacy and website upgrades has seen the online process of advice and ordering streamlined for customers with further digitalisation and patient offerings coming in 2022. With 91 stores nationwide, visit LloydsPharmacy store locator for details on your local pharmacy location and opening hours.

North-South Research

Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD have awarded ¤1.3m to seven collaborative research projects led by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) under the North-South Research Programme.

The projects were among 62 successful applications for research collaborations between academics and institutions in Ireland and in Northern Ireland which have been awarded a total of ¤37.3 million under the first funding call for the programme.

The North-South Research Programme is a collaborative scheme funded through the Government’s Shared Island Fund. It is being administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The RCSI and QUB-led projects were funded under Strand I: Bilateral researcher-researcher projects. The research spans fields including obesity, cancer, epilepsy, medical education, respiratory research and regenerative medicine including:

• DEFLATE: The Dramatic Effects of FKBPL on Adiposity via Gene Therapy, with RCSI lead Dr Stephanie Annett, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences

• NeuVac: mRNA based vaccine for children with neuroblastoma, with RCSI lead Dr Olga Piskareva, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine

• PROMARIC: The role of proteases in microbiome diversity and antibiotic resistance in COPD; a new risk factor with a potential novel therapy, with RCSI lead Professor Gerry McElvaney, Department of Medicine

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “Collaboration to share knowledge and expertise is central to our strategy for driving impactful research and innovation at RCSI. I welcome the funding from the North-South Research Programme which will further build on our research partnerships with Queen’s University and I look forward to the outcomes of these important projects to improve human health.”