From Sherbrooke to Rivière-Rouge, via Val-d’Or, many of you reacted to our report on the reduction in pharmacy opening hours, published Monday. Here is a selection of testimonials and opinions on the subject.
Posted at 3:14 a.m.
Updated at 8:00 a.m.
Forced to return to hospital
After a visit to the emergency room in Val-d’Or with my 82-year-old father, we found ourselves, on a Saturday at 6:30 p.m., with a prescription for anti-inflammatories, and we were unable to get it “filled” . No pharmacy is open. We returned to the hospital, and they helped us out with two tablets to start treatment as soon as possible. But what happens to less “resourceful” people? What happens to people who travel by taxi? Inconceivable.
Suzie Caouette
Respect for people in the region
In Rivière-Rouge, where I have a chalet, there are two pharmacies. Well, imagine that on Sunday, they both close their doors! It seems to me that one of them should have the decency to remain open. Already the local hospital’s emergency department recently threatened to reduce its opening hours on weekends… A little respect for the people who live in the region, damn it!
Frank Desoer
Not enough traffic
I worked for almost 25 years in pharmacy (manager). After the COVID-19 pandemic, the closing time of my local pharmacy changed from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. I totally approve. The payroll to be paid (pharmacist, technician, manager, cashier, cosmetic advisor) was far too high compared to the traffic. Additionally, purchases made between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. were predictable in almost all cases.
France Benoit
Difficult, even in Sherbrooke
One beautiful Sunday late in the afternoon, I realized that my eye was starting to swell and that secretions were forming and preventing me from seeing clearly. It’s conjunctivitis. Since pharmacists can prescribe antibiotics for this problem, I go there at 6:05 p.m. With my nose banging on the door in a city like Sherbrooke. No pharmacy open on a Sunday after 6 p.m.
Stéphane Rivest
Quebec must act
When will the CIUSSS (or the Minister of Health) impose a rotation system on pharmacists to ensure a service window from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., 7 days a week, in at least one pharmacy in the territory? Isn’t this the bare minimum for an essential service in a city the size of Sherbrooke?
Nathalie Gagnon
Order in advance
I am an immunocompromised person and have been taking chemo pills for over 13 years. I live in the region, near Mont-Laurier. I’m thinking about ordering my medication in advance and for two months at a time. And I pick them up during opening hours. So I never ran out of it.
With us, when you go to the emergency room, they take into account the closing times of the pharmacies and give you the medications accordingly so that you have them until they open.
Diane Imonti
Too late for painkillers
I understand that they are reducing their hours, but you have to think about the human side. I happened to have surgery on a Friday, and I came back too late to get my prescription for pain relief, and I needed it! So I called early on Saturday to have it delivered, but they didn’t do Saturday deliveries. Luckily I have a friend who was able to go. Otherwise I would have had to wait until Monday.
Ingrid Van Dyke
The French “community” example
I lived in France, where everything is closed on Sunday, but in every neighborhood there was an open pharmacy. In the front of all pharmacies, the address of the one that was open that Sunday was indicated. It was taking turns. It seems to me that this would be a “community” solution.
Lucie Rémillard
Not an essential need
Originally from Europe and living in Quebec for 30 years, I never understood this essential need for the long opening hours of pharmacies in Quebec. In France, pharmacies have restricted opening hours, and no one ever complains about it. Is it a question of a consumer society pushed to the extreme, or of a lack of organization between hospitals and pharmacies, or of fear of waiting until the next morning for a new prescription?
Patricia Molard
S’adapter
I believe that the whole of society must adapt, and not just the owners of pharmacies or other services. I am from the generation that worked endless hours. Our children want more balanced family lives. Why not ?
Marie-France Paradis
A favorite
I need to tell you about our pharmacy in Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez. The availability and kindness of the staff are to die for! A new prescription from our family doctor and presto, we are called to inform us that it is already ready. The pharmacy is closed on Sundays. But you just need to get organized, and that’s it.
Sylvie Hunter
For the sake of clarity and conciseness, the testimonies have been slightly edited.
Read the file “Pharmacy opening hours: sorry, we are closed”
