MONTVILLE’S only pharmacy will close and merge with Mapleton as a direct result of the loss of the hinterland town’s only GP service and the impending introduction of the federal government’s 60-day dispensing policy.
It leaves Montville without a doctor or a chemist for the first time in decades and brings to reality fears that the Federal Government’s controversial dispensing policy will negatively impact the communities that Health Minister Mark Butler said were designed to benefit.
Pharmacists across the hinterland say they have been left with few options other than to close, lay off staff or raise prices of services that have traditionally been free.
Montville Pharmacy owner, Natalie Lindner, said while it was a difficult decision she was aiming to be proactive by merging with Mapleton and said the new pharmacy would be striving to continue to serve the Blackall Range townships.
“We have been facing challenging times operating the pharmacy as a result of both the closure of the Montville Medical Centre and the 60-day dispensing policy,” she said.
“The impact of these government measures will regretfully result in Montville Pharmacy being forced to close as it is no longer viable.”
The new chemist, Lindner Family Pharmacy, will be operating from July 31 at 9 Obi Obi Rd, Mapleton. Montville’s final day of trading will be Saturday, July 29.
Ms Lindner said she was looking forward to providing ongoing services to help those in need.
“We will be offering a delivery service to the Flaxton and Montville area which aims to assist our customers with this change,” she said.
“We are also pleased to say that many of our services will continue including scripts on file, electronic scripts, dosage administration aids, MedAdvisor Script Management App, our members’ loyalty program, and the caring, personalised service you have come to know with us .”
The 60-day dispensing policy – being introduced from September 1 – allows people with chronic health issues to receive two months supply of medicines in a single script instead of one month. A report by economist Henry Ergas released last month predicted hundreds of pharmacies would close and thousands of jobs lost as a result of the 60-day dispensing policy.
In the report, Dr Ergas said: “It would seem sensible for the next steps to be [to] suspend the implementation of the first tranche of the MDQ policy change…until an evidence-based, independent review of the financial and economic impacts on the community pharmacy sector and the Australian community more broadly is undertaken and the impacts properly understood.”
Pharmacy Guild president, Trent Twomey, said: “This independent report confirms the policy is catastrophic in its current form.”
But Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, said the industry association was “misleading”. “This (60-day dispensing) was first recommended in 2018 from the independent clinical experts at the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. It was never implemented by the former government, costing Australians billions in lost savings,” he said.
“Cheaper medicines has been enthusiastically welcomed by the Consumers Health Forum, the Heart Foundation, the Lung Foundation, Breast Cancer Network, Rural Doctors Association, the AMA, RACGP and many others.
“The Government continues to work with all parts of the pharmacy sector on the implementation of this policy.
“The fact is the pharmacy lobby group is deliberately misleading Australians with a dishonest scare campaign.”
Landsborough pharmacist Tim Fitzpatrick said while the impact on his business was a significant concern, equally important was the impact on his customers and the community.
“There’s no small business in Australia that can deal with the impost thrown at the pharmacy industry and survive without making drastic measures that result in either closures, job losses and/or a massive impact on the patients we have always gone above and beyond to serve,” he said.
“Everything we have done has been for our patient’s benefit and patient care is at the forefront of our operations.
“I’ve been at this since 1984 and over that period of time the pharmacy industry has worked with all governments of all persuasions to benefit the taxpayer and still deliver high quality health care to customers.
“It’s productivity we’ve returned in spades. But this is a bridge too far.
“This is poor policy, poorly executed.”
At risk he added was the quality of healthcare to communities.
“The people who the Government are the one who said will benefit, will end up losing,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“We do a lot of things for nothing and will have no choice but to start charging for those and putting our prices up.”
Federal Member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace said it was a triple whammy for the Montville community.
“I know how much the Montville community means to Natalie Lindner and the passion she has to provide health and pharmaceutical services to the town,” he said.
“So, I understand that she has made a very difficult decision to close the Montville pharmacy at the end of this month.
“Natalie helped to rally the community in its fight for a doctor, obtaining 775 signatures on the Montville Wants a Doctor petition, which I tabled in Parliament House last month.
“But the Montville Pharmacy has been hit by a triple whammy on top of the Medical Centre in Montville’s closure in January.
“Unfortunately, the Montville Pharmacy won’t be the last across the nation to close due to these pressures in particular Federal Labor’s callous and careless 60-day dispensing policy with no understanding of its vast negative impacts.
Speaking at a chamber breakfast last week, Montville Chamber of Commerce president, Shiralee Cooper, said the loss of medical services was a terrible outcome for Montville.
“It’s a catastrophe,” she said.
“For those who don’t know Montville is considered suburban and Maleny is considered rural. There’s no space for us in that rural area.”
