Sunday morning patients of Kyabram’s Scope Medical Centre are being directed to Echuca and Shepparton pharmacies — to have medical scripts filled — as a result of a long-standing agreement between Kyabram’s two pharmacies ending a month ago.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Scope is the only Kyabram medical centre open on the weekend and until recently had been able to direct its Sunday morning patients to either Ian Collie Pharmacy or Terry White Pharmacy (formerly Amcal).
The clinic has been left in the difficult position of having to inform patients that there is no pharmacy available in Kyabram on a Sunday.
They are even going to the lengths of calling Ian Collie Pharmacy to request they stay open a little longer on a Saturday to ensure elderly patients are not forced to travel to Echuca or Shepparton to fill a script.
The two pharmacies have always shared responsibility for servicing the needs of Kyabram patients on a Sunday morning, an arrangement which had been honoured by various owners of the chemists for many years.
Three weeks ago the Scope clinic was informed by Ian Collie Pharmacy that they could no longer be open on Sunday morning, due to staffing shortages.
That decision came after the Terry White Pharmacy, directly across the road, had announced it would not be able to open on a Sunday due to similar staffing issues.
An Australia-wide shortage of pharmacists in regional Victoria has been a constant source of frustration for the distributors of prescription medicines.
A Scope Medical Clinic spokesperson said two of its administration staff members were now responsible for informing Sunday morning patients of their options for having scripts filled.
“We have to tell them there is no chemist open in town and we generally send people to the chemist warehouses at Echuca or Shepparton,” the spokesperson said.
“We email the scripts over there, but we have already had some elderly people struggling with the situation.”
The situation with the Kyabram pharmacies had put the clinic in a tough position, albeit in a reduced capacity due to the limited appointments on a Sunday morning.
“There have been angry responses from some people, but if they are desperate for the script to be filled there are only two options — Echuca or Shepparton,” the Scope representative said.
Scope has one doctor on duty on a Sunday and, understandably, he is flat out from 8.30am until 4.30pm or 5pm — the operating hours of the clinic on the sabbath.
A lot of patients book a Sunday morning appointment because they couldn’t get in during the week.
The Scope clinic understands the situation with the chemists and the difficulty in attracting professional staff to the town.
It has two doctors and is hoping to have a third in coming weeks, but it used to have six.
The decision of the Terry White Pharmacy to close on a Sunday was a result of not being able to find a pharmacist to work on a Sunday.
A rotation basis (chemists open on alternate Sundays) had been in place for many years, until a recent change of ownership at the Terry White Pharmacy.
According to Scope Medical Clinic Ian Collie pharmacist, Peter Pantazopoulos, has tried his best.
He has often waited back (after advertised operating hours) on a Saturday when the clinic has requested he remain open for a patient to have a script filled.
The pharmacy has a scheduled closing time of 12.30pm (on Google), but a phone call to inform the pharmacy that a patient is on their way down is commonplace.
“He has been really good,” the spokesperson said.
There is a concern within the senior citizens community about the current situation becoming a long-term problem .
Having elderly people, quite often non-drivers, required to organise their own travel to Shepparton and Echuca is not ideal for any of the three parties — pharmacies, medical centres and the patients.
Scope is open on a Saturday from 9am to 2.30pm and decided to open on a Sunday to accommodate the town’s population.
Kyabram Regional Clinic used to open between 10am and noon on a Sunday, but has not done so for some time.
That clinic was contacted by both the pharmacies to inform it of the decision not to open on Sundays until the staffing issues could be resolved.
The last appointment on a Friday at Kyabram Regional Clinic is at 4.45pm on a Friday, enabling patients to fill their script late on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Ky Family Medical is also closed on a Sunday.
The decision of the regional clinic and family medical not to open on a Sunday was also a factor in the decision of the pharmacies not to open on a Sunday.
Mr Pantazopoulos from Ian Collie Pharmacy said he would prefer not to comment on the Sunday trading situation.
Kyabram Free Press made contact with Terry White Pharmacy, who confirmed the struggle to find a Sunday pharmacist was the major reason behind the decision.
A spokesperson said they had not "completely written it off’’ Sunday trading, but in the interim they would remain closed.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor