Blister packs are fundamentally important. They are not a luxury; they are vital. I spoke to a pharmacist yesterday who explained what happens to dementia patients and patients with a cognitive impairment who are not on a blister pack. Many often end up going back into hospital because they cannot manage their medication. Their home help cannot assist them with it. They present back to the pharmacy, the GP and go into hospital when the medication is not provided to them in a blister pack. Blister packs reduce errors and prevent readmission to hospital. The cost to the pharmacy is enormous. On average, it takes about one hour to prepare a blister pack. They have to be clinically checked first, over and back with the GP, and an assembly process then takes place, usually by a technician, and finally then it is verified by a pharmacist. It costs in the region of €70 per hour. This is a loss-making exercise for pharmacists. That is what is happening. They are doing it for the benefit of their patients because they have an obligation to them. The Minister is disregarding dementia patients. She has money for the Ukrainian situation and for the 32,000 NGOs in the country, but the most vulnerable people in the State, the people who have built this society - the roads and infrastructure in this country - are being disregarded. I take issue with some of the comments made by the Minister. She stated that if patients are getting their blister pack free at the moment, this will probably continue. That is not the reality. I have been speaking to pharmacists across Mayo who are telling me this cannot continue. They cannot continue this loss-making exercise, particularly with regard to the changes that are set to be introduced. I want that to go back to the Minister. Many patients with dementia will be put in significant jeopardy if these changes go ahead. The Minister stated that patients should report their pharmacists to the regulator. What planet are we on? What planet is she on? Pharmacists in Mayo and across the country are trying to do their best for patients. They are trying to use the available schemes to get their patients a blister pack. They are doing that for the safety of their patients. Pharmacists are still operating at a loss in this regard. The Minister is asking patients to report their pharmacists to the regulator. Goodwill should be recognised here. It should be recognised that pharmacists are doing their best for patients while operating at a loss. This is the respect the Government has for them in relation to this service. I question the Minister's statement that this has always been a private service and therefore that should always be the case. HRT was only available privately up to a few months ago and the State saw fit to pay for that and to bring it into the public scheme.

Sentiment score: 0.06

The blister pack is fundamentally important for the most vulnerable. I have spoken to pharmacists across Mayo who say they will have to cap the number of patients who get blister packs. It is crucially important that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and the Government prioritise the most vulnerable in society.

Sentiment score: -0.04