I would like to thank the Deputy for the Parliamentary question, for which I requested information from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) directly. I hope the below information is useful to the Deputy.
The PSI has not issued any specific guidance for pharmacies regarding responsiveness, accessibility, and the handling of urgent clinical queries.
The PSI has issued Guidelines to support Medicines Therapy Review, Counselling, and Prescription Extension, which provide a principles-based outline of the responsibilities of all registered pharmacists, including those in pharmacy governance roles, regarding medicine therapy (Clinical) review, patient counselling and extending the validity of prescriptions.
In relation to the minimum operational arrangements including phone access, voicemail, email or other channels to protect patient safety, the PSI Guidelines on the Equipment Requirements of a Retail Pharmacy Business require pharmacies to have a direct dedicated telephone line, internet and email access, as well as a fax machine.
