Last month I had the pleasure of officially opening the new Amcal pharmacy in Fern Bay. Pharmacist and owner Alecia Hennessy understands how vital this service is to Fern Bay and Fullerton Cove. It's the first pharmacy in the area and it will service over 3,300 people. That number is growing rapidly, with nearby housing developments mushrooming and under construction. This pharmacy has immediately become an enormous asset for our area; however, the community is still without reasonable access to the supply of pharmaceutical benefits by an approved pharmacist due to an unintended consequence of the pharmacy location rules.
Most of the customers at Fern Bay Amcal are pensioners, single parents or retirees without the option of driving themselves to another location. Vital medications can't wait, so Alecia has acquired an extra car for the pharmacy and a member of her team makes at least three trips every day to Stockton pharmacy to fill the scripts. Alecia told me:
This is a community that desperately needs this service. Since we opened, over 800 people have signed our petition asking the Minister for Health to help solve this problem urgently, which is 25 per cent of the population and counting.
I've written to the minister asking for his intervention. Please, Minister, reply and help out.
