Ingrid Kaiser calls for a pharmacy protest. © Sandra Schwarz, fotostudio-schwa
The pharmacists have had enough. That's why they're calling for a nationwide day of protest: Many pharmacies will be closed on June 14 - including in Freising.
Freising – "The mood is really in the basement." Freising's pharmacy spokeswoman Ingrid Kaiser is furious – and therefore hopes that her colleagues will also keep their pharmacies closed on Wednesday, June 14. The Federal Association of German Pharmacists' Associations (ABDA) has called for this day as a Germany-wide day of protest. "Actually, our profession has always shied away from this. We never wanted to go on strike, but it doesn't help," says Kaiser. "What's too much is too much." Admittedly, the supply of medicines is to be maintained on this day via the emergency service.
However, it is important for pharmacists to set an example and to show the federal government with this action that it can no longer go on like this in the future. Due to the ongoing supply bottlenecks for medicines, increasing staff shortages and underfunding that has existed for years, the measure is now simply full.
Fees not adjusted since 2013
"The fees have not been adjusted for ten years," says Kaiser. On the contrary, it was not until the end of 2022 that the traffic light coalition passed an austerity law in the health sector, which practically reduced the pharmacy fee. "At the same time, the costs of personnel, goods and energy have continued to rise, not to mention inflation."
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
More and more pharmacies are closing
Due to the lack of economic prospects, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find young talent. As a result, more and more pharmacies are closing their doors – most recently the Korbinians, the Stadt- and Kaufland-Apotheke in Attaching in Freising. The latest news comes from Eching: As reported, Götz Apotheke will close there for economic reasons on July 1, 2023.
The death of pharmacies promotes another problem: "The emergency service is spread over fewer and fewer shoulders, which makes the work even less attractive," explains Kaiser. "Especially because many people still haven't understood that this emergency service is there for emergencies, and then you get rung out again at 4 a.m. because someone wants probiotics to build up your intestinal flora."
The straw that broke the camel's back was the supply bottlenecks that have been going on for months. "It's crazy how we squirm every day to somehow ensure the supply of medicines, some of which are essential for life," says the owner of the Engel pharmacy in Lerchenfeld. How long this will continue to work is questionable.
Many bureaucratic hurdles
For this reason, the ABDA has developed a catalogue of measures with ten points, including a fee adjustment or the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles. In addition, the federal association is calling for pharmacies to be able to exchange medicines more flexibly in view of the supply bottlenecks without having to worry that the health insurance companies will cancel their reimbursement with the so-called zero retaxations and that they will be left with the costs.
0
Also Read
Fall on the B13: motorcyclist (25) seriously injured
READ
City of Freising provides space for graffiti sprayers - and sets the rules
READ
Electrifying start in Pappelallee - this is how the Hallberg Cultural Summer can begin
READ
Help in the fight against fear: For 15 years, the cancer aid association has been caring for terminally ill people
READ
Attacks "of an unusual kind": freaking out in Freising's old town and at the train station
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
Information booth in the city center
Therefore, Ingrid Kaiser hopes that as many pharmacies as possible will take part in the protest day. She herself wants to inform the citizens about the campaign on June 14 with a stand in Freising's city center and ask for their understanding. Because the numerous appeals to representatives from politics have so far gone unheard, this strike is now the only way to make oneself heard in the long term. Kaiser emphasizes: "This is the only way we can ensure that as many points as possible are put into practice so that the supply of medicines close to home in Germany is maintained."
You can find even more up-to-date news from the district of Freising on Merkur.de/Freising.
