Once the guarantee of a comfortable life, today’s pharmacy is no longer the dream of young graduates. 1 in 3 chooses the pharmacy sector compared to 70% a few years ago, notes the Order of Pharmacists in its latest demographic report. The hospital, the civil service, the pharmaceutical industry seem much more attractive.
At the other end of the chain, the profession is aging, note your daily newspapers. 597 incumbents or assistants are over 65, there will be nearly 2,000 in five years. As a result, the pharmacies no longer find buyers. 181 pharmacies closed in 2015; one every two days.
This movement particularly affects the Paris region but, on the whole of the territory, it is the rural areas which are the most affected. “3.6% drop in the number of pharmacies in Corrèze; 3% in Orne; 2.9% in Haute-Marne; 2.7% in Puy-de-Dôme, reports The Parisian.
“We must encourage young people if we want to avoid pharmaceutical deserts”, proclaims Isabelle Adenot, the president of the Council of the Order.
A message to the public authorities. Because, as in other health sectors, successive governments have not given professionals the means to adapt to new consumption patterns.
To regulate good practices, e-commerce, health advice, the entry of assistants into the capital, certain implementing decrees have been in the drawers since 2007. Ditto for vaccination or for the proper use of drugs.
So, for the platform promises to turn into action, the Order of Pharmacists plans to file an appeal with the Council of State to force the government to publish the missing decrees. A way to stop the bleeding. France has lost 1,000 pharmacies in ten years.
First published: May 20, 2016
