Is the community’s desire for a 24-hour pharmacy in Bendigo shared by those in the business of providing them?

The state government yesterday called for tenders for the next round of an initiative intended to deliver 20 around-the-clock pharmacies by 2018.

A quarter of those pharmacies will be in regional Victoria. 

The first five Supercare Pharmacies opened last July – four of which were in Melbourne, one in Ballarat.

Seven tenders are up for grabs this time, with the pharmacies expected to open by mid year. 

Supercare Pharmacies are open 24-hours-a-day, every day.

A nurse is on site between 6pm and 10pm to provide health advice and treatment for minor injuries or illnesses.

The free nursing service has provided more than 1700 episodes of care across the five existing Supercare Pharmacies since August.  

While they don’t replace doctors or the need to visit an emergency department, Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the Supercare Pharmacies gave families another option and the piece of mind of knowing round-the-clock care is on hand, close to home.

“We saw during the unprecedented thunderstorm asthma event just how important is was for people to be able to access urgently needed medications and care close to home and at all hours of the day and night,” she said.

Attendances at Supercare Pharmacies after hours on the evening of November 21 were more than three times greater than usual, according to the state government.

The state government said the provision of Ventolin and other asthma medications prevented many people from having to go to a hospital emergency department.

People have visited the five existing Supercare Pharmacies more than 30,000 times between the hours of 10am and 7am, since they opened. 

"We are now looking for more pharmacies to open all day, every day to help families and people like shift workers who need non-emergency care and medicines after hours,” Ms Hennessy said. 

A further eight Supercare Pharmacies will open in 2018. 

Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser in January, UFS Pharmacies chief executive officer Michael Fleming said he was considering the Supercare Pharmacies initiative. 

Though community feedback has been overwhelmingly in favour of a 24-hour pharmacy in Bendigo, it was suggested extending pharmacy trading hours to midnight and early morning would suffice. 

The company awarded the retail contract for the new Bendigo hospital, Zouki, is seeking to provide a 24-hour or late-night retail pharmacy in the second stage of the project.