From 90% to 100% of pharmacies will be closed this Thursday, May 30, 2024. The cause is a pharmacists’ strike to protest against several ills affecting the profession such as the worrying shortage of medicines.
Two unions, the USPO and the FSPF, have filed a strike notice supported by the National Order of Pharmacists for this Thursday, May 30, 2024. This “closed curtain” operation should lead to the closure of 90 to 95% of pharmacies in France. ‘after the unions, an unprecedented mobilization for ten years. “Certain departments like Aude and Mayenne will have more than 90%, even 100% of pharmacies declared on strike” warns Pierre-Olivier Variot, president of the USPO in the columns of Le Parisien. And the demands are multiple.
Revaluation of fees, shortage of medicines and lack of resources
First of all, pharmacists mention a glaring lack of medicines. In 2014, only 400 references were missing. In 2023, nearly 5,000 references are missing. This is why pharmacists waste time during working hours to call doctors to find alternatives to treat patients.
But the crux of the matter remains money. Pharmacists are demanding increases in their fees and assistance. The sum proposed by the CNAM is currently considered insufficient. The unions are demanding a billion euros more than in 2019 because “the budget that is put on the table does not allow all the pharmacies to be financed” indicates Philippe Besset, president of the FSPF on France Bleu. Pierre-Olivier Variot highlights in Le Parisien the difficulty that the sector is going through “between the shortage of medicines and the closure of pharmacies”.
The daily tells us that the current situation could lead to the dismissal of 20,000 to 25,000 pharmacists. According to the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), in January 2024, 4,925 reports of shortages or risks of stock shortages were reported. “This winter, we ran out of cortisone and before that, of Doliprane. It’s a more than worrying situation” warns Pierre-Olivier Variot in Le Figaro. The reform of the 6th year of pharmacy studies is also expected in order to accommodate additional students in pharmacies. Finally, the “deregulation of the official network” increasingly worries unionists, in other words, the sale of medicines on the internet.
At the same time, pharmacies are facing increasing costs and a major upheaval in their business. If the new missions entrusted to pharmacies such as vaccinations, particularly since the Covid health crisis or even screenings are welcomed by professionals in the sector, the latter however regret the lack of additional resources to enable them to carry out these new missions. and this extra work.
“Almost 100% of pharmacies” closed in Occitanie
In the Rhône department, 95% of pharmacies will be closed, indicates Actu Lyon. The prefecture has requisitioned a pharmacy in each guard sector to respond to emergencies. In Paris, “the mobilization promises to be less strong, because there is a stronger individualism with a lesser sense of the collective than in the provinces” explains Philippe Besset.
In the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, “almost all pharmacies will be closed, shortages of unmanageable medications, margins becoming too restricted and new poorly paid missions” are mentioned by the Voix du Nord. Finally, “in the Midi-Pyrénées region, almost 100% of pharmacies will follow the movement” indicates Marie-Dominique Ory-Hemain, president of the Union of Unions of Community Pharmacists (USPO) in Occitanie in the columns of Toulouse news.