The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7436 p97
27 January 2007

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NI unprepared for Pfizer product distribution

Pharmacists in Northern Ireland have been kept in the dark about how the distribution of Pfizer products will take place, according to Michael Guerin, community pharmacist and National Pharmacy Association board member for Northern Ireland. UniChem announced last week (PJ, 20 January, p64) that it will subcontract the delivery of Pfizer medicines in Northern Ireland to another wholesaler — Sangers (NI) Ltd — but, Mr Guerin says, pharmacists have not been adequately informed.

Mr Guerin told The Journal that pharmacists are unprepared for the changes, and that there are concerns about the delay and lack of consultation. He said: “It has been flagged up that there is not a UniChem presence in Northern Ireland, but we have been told that we will find out in due course. Now there is going to be a mad rush to put accounts into place.”

He believes that accounting arrangements, integration of information technology, cut-off times for deliveries and returns policies have yet to be addressed.

Helena Bate, communications manager, UniChem, said that pharmacists in Northern Ireland will have their questions answered when they receive the account signup pack, which is due to be sent out next week. “The pack will help to clarify technical issues relating to how the system will work,” she added.

Ms Bate said that UniChem recognises that pharmacists have only just been advised of the final arrangements. “We wish to apologise to customers in Northern Ireland for the delay and hope that they realise that we were working on the best and easiest solution for them — and we are confident that is what they have got,” she said. “In the coming weeks we will be doing everything we can to ensure that pharmacists are signed up in time.”

She said that technically orders are handled by UniChem. However in practical terms pharmacists will order Pfizer products electronically from Sangers or, as a backup plan, by telephoning or faxing the Sangers’s customer service team. She added that there has been a lot of work going on in the background to make sure that computer systems will be compatible — for the majority of systems the work is complete, but other systems are still in the testing phase.