As of: March 2, 2024, 7:24 a.m
By: Laura Forster
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It's over from April 1st: owner Michael Wilhelm is closing the Korbinian pharmacy in Ismaning.
Photo: Ulla baumgart © Ulla baumgart
One of the oldest pharmacies in Ismaning and the surrounding area has to close forever: the Korbinian Pharmacy.
The owner regrets the task very much, the reasons are partly annoying.
Ismaning
- It has been around for 50 years, generations of Ismaning residents have bought their headache tablets or cough syrup there and received advice from the employees, and it has been run by Michael Wilhelm for two decades.
But now it's over: The Korbinian pharmacy at Korbinianstrasse 14 - one of the oldest in the area - will close on April 1st.
“It makes me very sad to give it all up,” says the 50-year-old, who runs two other pharmacies, the Falken-Apotheke in Ismaning and the Stern-Apotheke in Munich.
“It all started here in this pharmacy,” he remembers.
“But the idea has been maturing since last year.
The whole misery - everything that's going on in the pharmacy industry at the moment - has reinforced the consideration." Wilhelm ends the chapter Korbinian Pharmacy for reasons "that I cannot influence", such as a lack of staff, the high level of bureaucracy and the increased energy costs.
Korbinian pharmacy in Ismaning is closing: shortage of skilled workers and staff
The shortage of skilled workers and personnel has been a concern for Wilhelm for years.
“This is a big topic.
We have a massive shortage of staff and are worried about recruiting young people.” In addition, the pharmacies in Munich and the surrounding area are in competition with pharmaceutical companies when it comes to employees.
“They pay better and don’t have Saturday or emergency services.
We, on the other hand, have not had a fee adjustment since 2014.” Added to this are the increased expenses.
“The electricity costs have tripled.” Heating has also become significantly more expensive.
But what really robs Wilhelm and his employees of their last nerve and precious time is the increasing bureaucracy.
“This is crazy,” says the pharmacist, citing the recently introduced e-prescription.
“This has catastrophic consequences.” Because in many cases it doesn’t work properly.
“Often it isn’t recorded correctly or there are problems with the doctor’s signature.”
Bureaucracy and delivery bottlenecks
In addition to the high level of bureaucracy, delivery bottlenecks continue, which means that staff have to search for similar medications.
“We spend around 30 percent more time than before.
My employees regularly work overtime,” says Wilhelm.
But that will soon come to an end.
The six employees will all keep their jobs and will provide support in the two branch pharmacies from April.
“I’m pleased that I can relieve some of the workload on my employees,” says Michael Wilhelm, who has a total of 32 employees – all of them women.
The pharmacist told customers about the closure about four weeks ago.
“We have many regular customers who have been shopping with us for decades.
Of course they think it’s a shame that the pharmacy will soon no longer exist.”
Accusation: “Appreciation of Health Minister Lauterbach is zero”
What makes Wilhelm angry is the attitude of politicians towards the industry.
“The appreciation of Health Minister Lauterbach is zero,” he says.
“During the pandemic, we worked under high pressure to provide the population with tests or masks - often at the last minute - and now we are being thrown a stick against our legs.” For many citizens, pharmacies are the first point of contact when they are sick are.
“Doctors have less and less time.
That's why we are even more important.
But we feel let down by politics.”
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Pharmacy deaths are a nationwide phenomenon.
In total, there are only around 18,000 branches in Germany - far too few compared to Europe-wide.
There are 22 branches per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, the European average is 32. According to statistics from the Federal Association of German Pharmacy Associations, the number of pharmacies is as low as it was 40 years ago.
“This is a frightening development, but I can understand my colleagues.”