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Pharmacists
Pharmacists finding it difficult to keep their 'heads above water'
Falling sales, rising costs and threats to cut pharmacy incomes are contributing to the gloomy business outlooks.
PHARMACISTS ARE WORRIED about their futures with the majority saying their businesses are deteriorating.
According to the ‘Quarter 1 2013 Pharmacy Business Trends Survey’ by the Irish Pharmacy Union, falling sales, rising costs and threats to cut pharmacy incomes are contributing to the gloomy business outlooks.
While footfall and sales fall, increases in business costs such as local charges, energy costs and rents are causing concerns for pharmacists.
The biggest threat to pharmacies at the moment, according to the IPU, are further cuts to pharmacy incomes from government payment schemes and the introduction of reference pricing.
Almost 80 per cent of pharmacists reported that customer numbers were static, or falling, in the first quarter of 2013. One in three said overall turnover reduced during the quarter, with 60 per cent of pharmacists expecting sales to fall further.
Some 71 per cent of respondents are less optimistic about business prospects, compared with 54 per cent expressing this view in the previous quarter.
IPU President Rory O’Donnell has called on the government to more for pharmacies to prevent more job losses in the sector: “Any further cuts to pharmacy income will have a negative impact on future business potential and will put further pressure on pharmacists, who are already finding it difficult to keep their heads above water. It is essential that the Government recognises the huge pressure on these businesses in their efforts to safeguard jobs.”
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