Minister Jerome Kennedy is allowing Seniors to be used as Pawns for Chain Drugstores

The continued attitude of the Minister of Health, Jerome Kennedy risks the survival of rural communities by continuing to downgrade services both access and quality.

The Minister's attempt to diminish the rightful position of the Council of Independent Community Pharmacy Owners to negotiate with government - is simply to avoid dealing with the truth.

The Minister says the law means government must use PANL for negotiations - that is not true. The government has an ability to negotiate with any group - they will however seek the path of least resistance.

You will notice that Shopper's Drug Mart is quietly working behind the scenes with full access to government and without having to go through the PANL.

This Minister and his officials are more favourable to the large multi-national chains than to longstanding Newfoundland and Labrador business.

Further the government has no problem signing a big deal with Lawton's Drugs to service the prescription needs of seniors in personal and long-term care homes. This too did not require the PANL. No they had and have full access to the health care authority.

One of the issues the CICPO has to deal with is the removal of basic rights from seniors. This is being done without a word from Minister Kennedy - a lawyer - and prides himself with defending one without a voice. What happened to that Jerome Kennedy? Where has he gone?

A pharmacist in a community pharmacy - particularly in independent pharmacies are life-long professionals. In fact most experts will tell you that keeping your same pharmacist as well as your family physician is a real step one can take to maximize ones health.

Pharmacists are experts in disease and medication management and in our rural communities and inner-city pharmacies - they provide personal and varied social and health services.

Currently in our province there is a disgraceful practice taking place by chain drugstores that is causing the separation between patient and pharmacist. In rural communities where the independent is the only pharmacy - chain drugstores are walking into personal care homes and offering tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the seniors in beds. To be more direct they sign contracts with the home owners to provide exclusive access to provide all prescriptions to residents. They then deliver these drugs from a regional hub - not from the community itself. In this way they do not have to invest in the community or set up a pharmacy and pay tax in another community - all they have to do is deliver drugs. Then in a couple of cases they have asked the local independent pharmacy that has lost all the business to the chain - to fill in for them if the weather is bad or other circumstances occur.

What makes all this worse - many of our pharmacies have tried to console visibly upset seniors or their families as they are told that if they do not give up the pharmacist they have had for most of their life - and change to the out of community chain drugstore - their medications would not be administered. In other words they are forced to give up their right to choose their health-care professional. Many are frightened to talk as they believe it might impact their ability to get accepted into the home or perhaps their treatment because they spoke up.

Does Minister Kennedy have an answer for this? Who is bullying and threatening seniors - or using them as "pawns"? What of the cost to government and seniors? Does their price go up? Is government going to ask the homes to give up that head tax to the government where they are the ones funding the seniors' room in the home?

That is why independents know that what Minister Kennedy is proposing is going to destroy the best pharmacy network in the country. He will also destroy the quality of care for people - especially seniors.