National support being organised for disaster-hit pharmacies

Pharmacy sector leaders have been meeting with health authorities to organise support for pharmacies affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Details have not been fully worked out, but PSNZ chief executive Richard Townley’s message to affected pharmacies is: “Hang in there, we’re listening and we will help.”

On 20 February, PSNZ joined a virtual meeting with Health Hawke’s Bay PHO, Te Whatu Ora Te Mata a Māui Hawke’s Bay, the Pharmacy Guild and some local owners.

“From that, a need was identified to go to the national Te Whatu Ora around short-term costs and front-line and minor-ailment services,” Mr Townley says. “The process of preparing that proposal is under way.”

PSNZ may also coordinate with locum pharmacists to step up in the next month or so, and PSNZ branch president in Hawke’s Bay, Susan Donaldson, has been “doing a sterling job” and reporting back to all other branch presidents in a practice forum, he says.

Mr Townley says PSNZ continues to send out its practice update, which draws attention to regulations that have changed due to the disaster, and what the changes mean in practice

Te Whatu Ora incident controller Emma Foster says when the impact of the cyclone on the region became known, the agency immediately took steps to secure emergency equipment, including generators, to ensure continued delivery of medical services.

“We are extremely grateful to the pharmacies and other health providers who endeavoured to provide exceptional service to the community in challenging conditions after Cyclone Gabrielle,” Ms Foster says in an emailed statement.

The equipment arrived in Napier on Sunday 19 February, and was distributed to pharmacies and other health providers. Due to the scale of the devastation and the impact on communications across several regions, delivery of that equipment was prioritised to providers serving communities in the greatest need.

Some pharmacy workers delivering medical supplies were reportedly refused access across a bridge between Napier and Hastings and also not prioritised for receiving petrol earlier in the week despite carrying authorisation letters from Te Whatu Ora.

Ms Foster acknowledges this happened and says some petrol station staff made decisions based on their own understanding of essential workers.

“We acknowledge there were some initial issues with some authorities recognising the authorisation of some health workers in the early hours of the response,” she says.

In addition to the actions of Te Whatu Ora, Medsafe also introduced emergency medicines supply regulations enabling pharmacists to provide up to 14 days’ worth of medicines without a prescription in the worst-impacted districts, and has temporarily suspended the prescription copayment in these areas.

Free general practice and urgent care visits have also been funded in Hawke’s Bay until 19 March.

* Additional reporting Paulette Crowley and Natasha Jojoa Burling