Filenews 1 August 2025
"The opening hours of private pharmacies must change", say the organized patients, clarifying their position after the announcements made by the Pancyprian Pharmaceutical Association in the previous days.
It is recalled that the PSC proceeded on Wednesday to an extraordinary general assembly with its members saying no to any change in the operating hours of their pharmacies and rejecting all the alternative proposals put before them by the Minister of Health, Michalis Damianos.
The Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations, in a statement, clarified the position of the organized patients on the issue, stressing that after the implementation of the GHS, the opening hours of pharmacies must be readjusted.
OSAK calls for the abolition of the noon holiday applied by pharmacists, mentioning, among other things, that during the hours when patients are discharged from hospitals, pharmacies are closed.
In detail, the positions of the organized patients:
- The current opening hours of private pharmacies do not make it easier for patients
- As OSAK, we disagree with the interruption of the operation of pharmacies during the noon hours. During this period, and mainly between 13:00 – 2:00, the largest volume of discharges is issued by hospitals. This means that a very large number of patients who are discharged from hospitals have to secure the medicines their doctors prescribe before returning home. The operation of a very small number of two-day pharmacies during the afternoon hours does not make it easier for patients, on the contrary, it inconveniences them and their family members.
- We agree and demand the implementation of the institution of overnight stays since it ensures the uninterrupted availability of medicines to patients. However, it is also imperative to increase the number of pharmacies that open every 24 hours.
- At the same time, we emphasize the need for an extension of the hours during which the pharmacist who spends the night is in his pharmacy.
- We recognize the fact that the pharmacist is a health professional with a position of responsibility towards patients. However, the implementation of the GHS and the significant increase in the number of citizens (plus the entire population) served by the private sector, we believe that it also imposes the necessary adjustments in the way pharmacies operate and the operating hours".
With its announcement, OSAK comments, indirectly but clearly, on the statements made by the PSC on Thursday, through which, among other things, reference was made to the fact that the organized patients agree with the decisions of the pharmacists.
"All of the above were raised by OSAK at its last meeting with the Pancyprian Pharmaceutical Association, which took place at the Federation's offices in November 2024. During this meeting, according to the relevant minutes, the representatives of the PSC were informed about our positions, concerns and concerns that always revolve around the well-understood interest of patients and their facilitation in their efforts to secure the services they need, when they need them".
