Along with doctors and nurses, pharmacists are also on the front line in this health crisis. Responsible for vaccination or tests, especially for the end of year celebrations, they participate in the fight against the fifth wave of the epidemic. The sector has struggling to recruit, in particular licensed pharmacists in dispensaries. In Boivre-la-Vallée, 3200 inhabitants, 20 km west of Poitiers, the pharmacy will close, for lack of reprenneur. Blandine Crivelli is retiring on December 31 and will lower the curtain for the last time after 17 years in the town.
Investors, but no licensed pharmacist
The shelves behind the counter are empty, Blandine Crivelli has not ordered, or very little, new medication. She empties her stocks. The holder of the dispensary is a little heartbroken, yet she has launched steps to find a successor for two years. “I put ads, I worked with an agency in Paris too and we got no response”, she laments. The problem is not financial according to her. The pharmacy is economically sound and runs well. Some pharmacists were ready to invest, but not to become holders of the dispensary. However, there can only be one pharmacist who must be present almost every day in his shop. The regulations prohibit management in this industry.
I put advertisements, I worked with an agency in Paris too and we got no response. “- Blandine Crivelli, pharmacist.
“It would be necessary to work in association with two”, believes Blandine Crivelli, but there was no meeting between two practitioners. According to her, young professionals are looking for more working comfort and more fixed hours. “What is normal”, she admits, hence her idea of being two. “In my little pharmacy, all alone, it’s hard, but together it made it possible to live very very well and then to have a decent working time”, says the pharmacist.
Disappointed residents
The locals are going to have to do now ten kilometers to find a pharmacy, either in Latillé or in Vasles. “It’s a shame for the whole surrounding countryside”, regrets Patrick. He pursues : “there was the pharmacy nearby, the doctor.” This observation is shared by Loudine. “It’s like when the Post Office closed, it’s the same”, she laments. “For us, it’s really a handicap”, complains Mayor Dany Dubernard. “Especially since we have a project to expand our medical center to accommodate doctors, to compensate for the retirement of the next doctors who will leave. Having a pharmacy in a town is an asset. Attracting doctors without a pharmacy , it’s harder”, she analyzes. Like other businesses, a pharmacy, “it is the link at the level of a municipality”, concludes the elected, who therefore fears for the attractiveness of the town center.
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