Health and Community Services
March 10, 2016

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services:

March is Pharmacist Awareness Month

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize March as Pharmacist Awareness Month.

This month is celebrated every year across Canada to recognize and raise awareness of the contributions that pharmacists make to the health care system.

The department participated in the Pharmacists' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador's kick-off event last week. Held at the Hampton Inn and Suites in St. John's, attendees included Memorial University's School of Pharmacy, the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns and the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board.

Newfoundland and Labrador has approximately 700 practising pharmacists. These highly-trained, capable professionals provide a wide range of frontline services on a daily basis.

Allowing health care professionals such as pharmacists to work to their full scope of practice provides an opportunity to enhance a patient's access to care. We will conduct a thorough legislative review to identify ways to ensure all health care professionals work to their full scope of practice.

At its very core, being a pharmacist is about understanding the needs of residents. It is about offering support and guidance as people navigate the primary health care system.

Please join me in thanking our province's pharmacists. I encourage everyone to talk with their own pharmacist to learn more about the services they can provide.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

- 30 -

2016 03 10                              2:20 p.m.