New Year action on the cards, says NPA after ballot results

It was an unprecedented move, to call for the first ballot in the 103-year history of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and now the organisation
has warned that it’s more than just a scare tactic and pharmacies will go through with action in January if there isn’t an acceptable resolution forthcoming from
the government.

“We’re looking for the government to consider our ballot, digest the results, and then come up with a proper proposal for community pharmacy – a fair deal,” chief
executive officer Paul Ree told Pharmacy Business.

“If that’s not forthcoming, we’ve got a board meeting in a couple of weeks, we then need to decide when to take action, but we would be looking at taking action in
January.”

The NPA announced the results of the collective action ballot on 14 November in which nearly all pharmacy owners, who participated in the ballot, voted to limit
their services, insisting that a lack of additional funding is jeopardising patient health and safety.

“Our members have voted, they’ve spoken clearly, and unless the government come up with a fair deal soon, we will regrettably have to move to the next step, which
is calling for action,” said Rees.