Barbara Stewart MP
Spokesperson for Health

13 November 2012

Shonky Pharmacy Services Agreement Needs To Be Reviewed

New Zealand First is calling on the Government to review the implementation of its new Community Pharmacy Services Agreement (CPSA).

The call for a review comes because of uncertainty amongst pharmacies over the new service for patients, and how pharmacists will be paid.

Health spokesperson Barbara Stewart says the agreement is without precedent internationally and was rushed into law without adequate checks and balances.

“The implementation of the CPSA was pushed through with no trials or analysis to ensure it would work efficiently and effectively.

“It is a blunt instrument riddled with loopholes and uncertainty which allow it to be manipulated, without the ability to audit in a timely and effective way.

“Health Minister Tony Ryall must order a review of the system.”

Mrs Stewart says a review may well find that the flawed CPSA is too difficult to fix and needs to be scrapped.

“New Zealand First has learned that there are concerns held over the potential for inappropriate use of funding.

“There is also growing alarm by pharmacists that the Government will not be able to adequately resource the audits of the CPSA,” says Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>