Sydney Morning Herald
March 22 2015
Parents of sick children will be spared the midnight drive west to reach the only 24-hour chemist in Sydney, under a Labor pledge to open all-hours pharmacies in the south, north and inner Sydney.
The Pharmacy Guild's NSW director, Steven Waller, said it was "unusual for a city the size of Sydney" to have only one 24-hour pharmacy, in the outer western suburb of Wetherill Park, and it was a gap that needed to be filled.
Labor's health spokesman Walt Secord said a NSW Labor government would provide $3 million for a trial to assist three pharmacies open 24-hours, with likely sites in Chatswood, Glebe and south-west Sydney.
The funding would support wages for a pharmacist, assistant and a security guard for three years at each site.
"Every parent knows the frustration of needing to fill a prescription for a child at 2am and not being able to get to a pharmacy," said Mr Secord.
"Every parent also knows the frustration of getting a prescription after visiting an emergency department - and then not being able to find a pharmacy to get it filled."
Labor said the 24-hour pharmacies would reduce the pressure on hospital emergency rooms.
John Bronger decided to trade all hours at his Wetherill Park Chemist Works after a customer said she wished he had been open when her child became seriously ill and was taken to hospital.
Customers drive from as far as the eastern suburbs and the Hills district, he says, while the chemists also give out late night phone advice on fevers.
"It's stuff for their babies; it's recommendations. There are diabetics who run out of medication. We have massive amounts of insulin," he says.
The customer type changes as clock hand moves from dusk to dawn. Mr Bronger describes Wetherill Park as the "engine room of Sydney".
"We are in an industrial area, so there are a lot of shift workers here. It is multicultural, with a lot of hospitality workers and people who own restaurants all over Sydney. They come home from work late at night," he says.
From 4am, the tradies hit the road. "Electricians and refrigerator mechanics are on their way to the city and have to get in before the traffic," he says.
Next are the dog walkers.
The nearby Fairfield Hospital sends people who require dressings, crutches or medication. Hospitals in Penrith, Westmead and Blacktown will also send patients.
"There's no whoopee money in it. Its' a hard slog," he admits.
"We have quite a few young pharmacists who are insomniacs. They studied through the night and haven't lost the habit. They like the variety. You don't know what the next home call will be."
The Bronger's advertised on radio and told local hospitals and doctors, to alert people they were open, and the business has slowly built.
The Pharmacy Guild has welcomed the pledge of $3 million in funding assistance over three years for the three pharmacies that win a tender to operate 24-hours, to help them establish a 24-hour business model.
"I think there will be no shortage of interest from our members," said Mr Waller.
"Visits to emergency rooms in NSW hospitals have increased over the last five years and often the sorts of presentations in ER can be treated quite easily in a primary health sense by another health professional," he said.
Mr Secord said NSW Labor was responding to the changing health needs of Australians and "stepping outside the square".
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