News
Community pharmacies to extend healthcare services
9 April 2008
Government plans to extend services available through community
pharmacies in England is good news for patients, the public and local
communities, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPSGB).
The RPSGB was
responding to the publication of the UK government White Paper on the
future of pharmacy services, Pharmacy in England: Building on
Strengths — Delivering the Future [1]. The White Paper is part of
government strategy to provide better and more personalised care.
The White Paper sets out how pharmacists will work to complement GPs
in promoting health, preventing sickness and providing care that is more
personal and responsive to individual needs. This extended role will see
many more pharmacists being able to prescribe for and deal with minor
ailments on the NHS, as well as promoting good health, supporting those
with long-term conditions and preventing illnesses through additional
screening and advice.
Supporting this programme, the Department of Health will appoint two
new pharmacist clinical directors who will champion change in hospitals
and in the community.
Pharmacies already provide easy access to healthcare services for the
public. 99% of the population can reach a community pharmacy by car, by
walking or by public transport within 20 minutes. The plans will give
the public better access to better choices for tackling prevention of
illness and providing treatment.
For example, within three years pharmacies are expected to be in a
position to provide treatment for half of minor ailments (coughs, colds,
eye infections, stomach upsets, headaches) for patients who currently
visit their GP. Extending services provided by pharmacies has already
been trialled in Scotland with good outcomes and financial benefits.
Many pharmacies already deliver the additional services that the
Government are proposing, such as the treatment of long-term conditions
including asthma and diabetes and also Chlamydia screening.
Currently, the services are not uniformly available across the
country, as local commissioning of services varies. This makes it
difficult for the public to appreciate the potential for pharmacies to
support them with prevention of illness advice, support services, and
also treatments. The government proposals will see pharmacies across
England offering new public health services to patients.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "These proposals are not about
pharmacists taking over the work of GPs, it's about complementing them,
taking pressure off GPs and enabling them to spend more time with those
patients who really need it."
Hemant Patel, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great
Britain (RPSGB), said: "Pharmacists have an important role to play in
providing access to healthcare for the most vulnerable members of the
community, for example the elderly, young mothers, those who may not
have access to transport, and also in providing joined-up medicines
advice across primary and secondary care.
"The recognition of this role is long overdue, but nevertheless
welcome. There has been some resistance by those commissioning local
services to include pharmacists as key providers of advice and treatment
for their communities.
"The time is now right for pharmacists to seize this opportunity and
to take steps to ensure that the public benefits from these proposals.
The RPSGB are proposing to Government a set of professional standards to
ensure a level of quality for the services. We look forward to working
with pharmacists, patients, the public and Government to deliver
accessible Health Centres in every community that wants them."
Paul Bennett, Chair of the English Pharmacy Board of the RPSGB, said:
"It is very exciting that the Government has listened to the
profession's call to extend the clinical and advisory services offered
to the public. This report offers a more clinical role to pharmacists in
the community and also recognises the potential for hospital pharmacists
to play a greater role in avoiding readmissions to hospitals through
improved medicines management. It is also vital that access to patients'
summary care records are made available and the further work to be
undertaken by Government is urgent and welcome."
Further information
Pharmacy in England: Building on Strengths — Delivering the Future,
related documents and even a video (a 35MB download rather than a
streaming video) are available from:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/
PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_083815
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