Pharmacists have been given the power to treat a number of common illnesses under a new "radical" plan. A significant overhaul of England's GP services is being launched by the NHS, and aims to help millions receive quicker and more convenient care.
The plan has been billed as a “major expansion of services" and will allow patients to bypass a visit to the doctor, and get prescriptions directly from the pharmacy for common conditions.
While the plan will help to relieve pressure on GPs and free up doctors appointments for more serious conditions, concerns have been raised that the reforms will only pass pressure from GPs and onto pharmacies, reports the Mirror.
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The common ailments for which Brits can now get their medication directly from pharmacies include:
- earache
- sore throat
- sinusitis
- impetigo
- shingles
- infected insect bites
- urinary tract infection
- Oral contraceptive pills will also become available from pharmacies.
The plans come as part of government efforts to help reform overstretched GP services and are the same as similar schemes that worked in Scotland and Wales. When the current Tory government came into power in 2019, they promised to hire an extra 6,000 GPs, but from then until March of this year, the number of GPs actually fell from 28,000 by 500.
The new plans are likely to kick in by next winter and the NHS claims they will free up around 15 million GP appointments over the next two years. However, this doesn’t address the root issue around accessing GPs, which is a lack of doctors and The Mirror was told of concerns that pharmacies themselves were "fighting for survival" and more needed to be done to address the "funding crisis, workforce challenges and medicine supply issues".
Dr Leyla Hannbeck CEO of Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies said: “The plan recognises the important role that community pharmacy can play in improving patient access to care. Any measures to facilitate patient care with a less cumbersome, less time-consuming and easier bureaucratic burden will be welcomed by pharmacy teams the length and breadth of the country.
"Over 90% of independent community pharmacies’ activities are for the NHS and pharmacies do not pass on their costs on to their patients and customers, consequently, many are operating at a loss. Years of underfunding have left them fighting for their survival. There is a shortfall of £1.1bn in pharmacy funding every year and rising, and many pharmacies are struggling to pay the ever-increasing prices of medicines and the higher general costs of doing business and managing greater workforce challenges.
"So far since 2015, more than 800 pharmacies have closed permanently and sadly more will shut this year. We have always been willing to play our part in supporting the NHS. We demonstrated that during the pandemic when we kept our doors open and provided a vital service to our struggling communities.
"Whilst the Government’s Primary Care Recovery Plan is a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to address the funding crisis, workforce challenges and medicines supply issues that have brought our pharmacies to their knees, causing more and more pharmacies to close their doors permanently.”
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive said: “GPs and their teams are working incredibly hard to deal with unprecedented demand for appointments. But with an ageing population, we know we need to further expand and transform the way we provide care for our local communities and make these services fit for the future.
“Today, we are setting out an ambitious package of measures to do just that – with pharmacies playing a central role in managing the nation’s health including providing lifesaving checks and medication for common conditions for the first time. This blueprint will help us to free up millions of appointments for those who need them most, as well as supporting staff so that they can do less admin and spend more time with patients."
The new blueprint for care comes just months ahead of the 75th anniversary of the NHS, this July 5. Another major move the reforms hope to make is eliminating the 8am rush for appointments - aiming to have no patient waiting on hold just to be told to call back another day.
Around £240million will be spent on a new phone system, ministers announced recently, but the plans were blasted by Labour as giving patients “better hold music” instead of more doctors. Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Secretary, said the “shallow offer” showed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was out of touch with patients.
He added: “The reason people can’t get a GP appointment is the Conservatives have cut 2,000 GPs. Better hold music isn’t going to change that. “Nothing in this announcement will train more doctors, allow patients to choose a face-to-face appointment, or bring back the family doctor so patients see the same GP each time.”
Mr Streeting called on the Government to adopt Labour’s plan to train 7,500 more doctors a year, which it says could be paid for by axing the non-dom tax status
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