Pharmacists will be given new powers to dispense prescriptions for the most common conditions as part of plans to ease pressure on GPs.
Rishi Sunak today unveiled plans to free up 15 million GP appointments by making it easier for patients to get the help they need on the high street.
It means that millions of people with minor infections and illnesses can get prescription drugs directly without consulting a doctor first.
The plan, which will go into effect by winter, will allow pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics and antivirals for conditions such as ear infections, sore throats, sinusitis, shingles and minor urinary tract infections.
In a win for the Mail’s Save Our Local Pharmacies campaign, ministers have agreed an additional £645 million to expand community pharmacy services over the next two years.
Rishi Sunak today unveils plans to free up 15 million GP appointments by making it easier for patients to get the help they need on the high street
Rishi Sunak today unveils plans to free up 15 million GP appointments by making it easier for patients to get the help they need on the high street
The money is less than hoped for by an industry that loses a pharmacy every five days.
But it was hailed by industry leaders last night as a step forward. Thorrun Govind, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England, said the plans were a “real breakthrough” for patients.
Mr Sunak, whose mother ran a pharmacy in Southampton, said: ‘We will end the 8am rush and expand pharmacy services, meaning patients can get their medication quickly.
“This relieves the pressure on our hard-working GPs by freeing up 15 million appointments and puts an end to the overly stressful wait on the phone for patients.”
The expansion of pharmacy services is part of a wider ‘primary care recovery plan’ designed to restore public satisfaction with GP services post-pandemic.
Other measures include investing £240 million in new telephone systems to reduce waiting times, giving some patients access to NHS services such as physiotherapy without a referral from a GP, and allowing most to access their health records and test results online.
A typical GP practice receives over 100 calls in the first hour of a Monday morning, with many patients giving up before they can get through.
Ministers believe the package could free up 15 million GP appointments a year, 4.5 percent of the 340 million in total.
Industry experts cautiously welcomed the new plans. Janet Morrison, head of the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee, said pharmacies are ‘ideally placed to do more to help patients’ – but warned that more money was ‘critical’. She added: “Getting this money into pharmacies quickly is critical when many are fighting for survival.”
https://healthmedicinet.com/i/chemists-to-be-given-powers-to-hand-out-prescriptions-for-common-illnesses-to-ease-pressure-on-gps/