Over 800,000 signatures for community pharmacy
Sep 18, 2013
Reference :
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has collected well over 800,000 signatures on its Pharmacy Under Threat petition.
The Executive Director of the Guild, David Quilt, said: “This is a feather in the cap to all the pharmacists and pharmacy assistants around Australia who have personally stepped up and contributed directly to this grassroots campaign.
“It is also testament to the patients who care about their local pharmacy services and value the professionalism of the committed pharmacy staff who deliver them.”
Records show that the largest petition ever presented to the House of Representatives stands at 792,985 signatures (a petition objecting to increases in beer prices).
The pharmacy petition will be presented to the House of Representatives Petitions Committee next month to have its content and the number of signatures collected verified.
Every signature counts in terms of sending the clearest and strongest possible message to the Federal Parliament that Australians do not want their pharmacy services and local pharmacy jobs to be put at risk.
The Guild is seeking to engage at the earliest opportunity with the new Coalition Government on Labor’s shock pre-election changes to price disclosure. The Guild wants to achieve a solution that addresses the impact of this change on pharmacies, their staff and patients.
“We are under no illusion about the difficulty of our task, but we won’t rest until the future of community pharmacy is assured,” Mr Quilty said.
As we enter into these discussions, the outstanding success of the Pharmacy Under Threat petition provides a very clear signal that community pharmacies and their loyal staff enjoy the strong support of the Australian public.
Media inquiries: Greg Turnbull 0412 910261