Pharmacies will be opening on Sunday afternoons as from this weekend as part of a deal reached by the government and the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, which will also include the expansion of other services linked to the Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC) scheme.

Announcing the deal, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that as from Sunday, pharmacies will be open on Sunday mornings as they have been doing so far the past years, but will also be open from 4 to 7pm.

The same roster system employed for the past years will be in use.

During a press conference on Friday, which also dealt with the easing of more Covid-19 measures, Fearne spoke about the (POYC) scheme, praising its service, and saying that over 140,000 patients benefit from this scheme.

A total of 223 private pharmacies participate in this scheme to distribute medicines which are worth €430 million per year, Fearne said.

A number of patients, who have reduced mobility or are elderly people, benefit from the service were their medicine is delivered straight to their door.

“The POYC scheme has been beneficial for many years, and it is clear that in the past few years it has continued to strengthen to help many patients in the most convenient and professional way possible,” Fearne said.

The health authorities signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday with the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists and with the Chamber of SMEs to continue this service, and more, for the next five years.

Apart from the services that are already available, and will continue to be available for patients, this agreement will introduce a new service referred to as a Medicines use Review.

Once every six months, every patient who makes use of the POYC scheme will undergo a review of the medicines they are using to ensure that the medicines are being properly used to the patients’ full health benefit.

“We have a lot of patients who take a number of different medications for different purposes. It’s not the first time that health professionals need to specifically explain to patients for what purpose and how the medicine needs to be taken.

Thus, this review will be carried out if the patient or pharmacist feels the need to do so. This service will also avoid the waste of medicines which are not used by patients,” Fearne said.

The Malta Chamber of Pharmacists President Mary Anne Sant Fournier praised this agreement, saying that this goes to show how important pharmacy professionals are.

“Today’s MOU is the work of many discussions which have been taken place for months but were delayed due to the pandemic,” Sant Fournier said.

Mario Debono, for the Chamber of SMEs, said the Chamber has always been at the forefront to such change in order to move this country forward.

“This agreement is an important one for pharmacies as it will reassure their viability,” Debono said.