A union of pharmacies open 24 hours a day is mobilizing to demand authorization to open on Sundays. Prefectural decrees prevent them from doing so.
Finding a pharmacy open on Sundays is a bit like the quest for the Grail. Anyone who has been bedridden on the weekend knows this situation. In the absence of a prescription, it is impossible to have a duty station opened. Only one solution remains: take your pain patiently, or go to the emergency room. However, in France, some pharmacies can remain active all day. But they denounce a paradox. Despite this authorization, they are sometimes forced to lower the curtain on Sunday.
These 13 pharmacies came together in an association, the Union des Pharmacies 24/24. Their request is simple. While they can remain open every night, in accordance with the Public Health Code, they are forced to close Sunday during the day. In question, prefectural decrees which apply the Labor Code. The situation is paradoxical to say the least, and requires resolution. Especially since businesses can remain active.
Sufficient stocks
How to harmonize the two legislative texts? The association may have the answer. She is asking for a derogatory status from pharmacies open 24 hours a day. And she puts forward numerous arguments to defend her case. Starting with that of public health. Certain products cannot be dispensed by pharmacies on duty. This is the case, in particular, with antibiotics, anti-diarrhea drugs or even post-operative products. Lifting the curtain on Sunday would restore the balance.
The objective is not to replace the on-call pharmacies, but to support them, explains the Union des pharmacies 24/24. “Open every Sunday, these pharmacies, by their experience of 24/24, would represent a safety valve for designated duty pharmacies,” she said in a statement.
In terms of stocks, nothing stands in the way of a Sunday opening and the pharmacies concerned are easily identified by the population. As for the wallet, patients and Social Security, it should not suffer from such a decision. These pharmacists “do not demand the payment of specific fees” for care.
Moderate unions
But not all pharmacists share this position. “Compulsory Sunday rest is included in our collective agreement”, specifies the president of the Federation of dispensing pharmacists (FSPF), Philippe Gaertner in The Parisian.
As for the Union of Unions of Pharmacists of Pharmacies (USPO), it evokes the risk of commercial openings. In other words, pharmacies would only open during the busiest hours to reap profits. “Some pharmacies opened part of Sunday for commercial reasons without ensuring the night watch, explains its president Gilles Bonnefond to Challenges. Others decided to open only on certain Sundays, when it suited them. “
This is the whole purpose of the Public Health Code. The pharmacies can open on Sundays, on one condition: that they do not select their hours and provide service all day. One way to prevent self-interested closings.
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