Many pharmacies in the southern German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria on Wednesday remained closed to protest the current healthcare policy.
Pharmacists had organised protests against excessive bureaucracy, persistent supply bottlenecks and the ongoing underfunding of the sector.
They said that, the number of pharmacies is at its lowest level in 40 years and the supply system is being cut to the bone .
“We want to oppose this with our protest,’’ said Tatjana Zambo, president of the Baden-Württemberg Pharmacists’ Association.
The State Pharmacists’ Association of Lower Saxon, said that due to a law introduced on Feb.1, pharmacies would have to pay a discount to the statutory health insurance funds, resulting in a sharp drop in fees.
“The Health Ministry, according to its own information, apparently has no idea what is earned in public pharmacies under the current collective agreements,’’ said the pharmacists’ union ADEXA.
According to the trade unions, thousands of people gathered for the central rally in Stuttgart, the medical association Medi Baden-Württemberg also joined the protests.
The rally in Stuttgart is the third in a series of actions in recent weeks.
On Nov. 29, a rally in Dresden will conclude the month of protests with pharmacy closures in Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony.
