“It shall be the duty of the managing pharmacist to ensure that on Sundays and public holidays his pharmacy at least be open from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon strictly in accordance with the roster issued for the purpose by the Licensing Authority,” the law says.

Pharmacies used to be the only shops open on a Sunday or a public holiday but, as times change, retailers also opened their doors too.

Nowadays, you’ll find a shop open in every locality, from retail to supermarkets – but you’ll still only find one pharmacy open until 8 pm on the entire island.

The pharmacy at Malta International Airport (MIA) is the only exception to this rule due to its original positioning inside the airport where it is meant to cater to people traveling only.

That means the pharmacy at MIA is not obliged to a roster and can stay open later than the given time. 

It also means that, theoretically, the MIA pharmacy can make the decision to close on a Sunday afternoon (with no obligation to the roster) and Malta will be left with no pharmacies open until Monday morning.

Lovin Malta spoke with individuals within the industry who have expressed their frustration with the archaic practice which tends to leave a lot of people without their medication on a Sunday afternoon.

Those who do tend to find themselves in a two-hour queue for medication that could potentially be sold out as a result of high demand.

However, there have been exceptions to the rule.

Every year the Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, issues a letter in which she authorities ‘the opening of all pharmacies who wish to open on Sundays and Public Holidays falling within the festive season, specifically for the period of 1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020.’

This decision is made in line with statistical data that suggests that more people are in need of a pharmacy throughout the months in December and January but also raises the question as to why aren’t allowed to open on Sunday and public holidays year-round.

Pharmacies were the only shops by law that were required to open on Sunday, but times have changed.

With most shops choosing to open seven days a week, the laws that once made pharmacies an avant-garde institution have now made them primitive in modern Malta.

Not only that, but the real issue here is that patients are being denied the opportunity to buy medication, from paracetamol to the morning-after pill, and nobody really understands why.

What do you make of pharmacies closing on a Sunday? Let us know in the comments below.