Pharmacists will be able to prescribe for minor ailments, do health promotion, manage people with chronic conditions and offer screening under the government’s new enhanced role for them, announced today.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said the white paper, Building on Strengths, Delivering the Future, gives pharmacists a complementary role to general practitioners that goes beyond what pharmacy services already offer.
"These proposals are not about pharmacists taking over the work of GPs - it's about taking pressure off GPs and enabling them to spend more time with those patients who really need it," he said.
Pharmacists will have additional powers to prescribe certain medicines and the government hopes patients will turn to their local pharmacy for any minor ailments so freeing up GPs to deal with more sick patients. It estimates this will save each GP one hour a day – or 57 million GP consultations a year.
The government will encourage pharmacists to increase their support of people with long-term conditions and offer screening for vascular diseases as part of the health checks initiative for 40-74 year olds announced earlier this week.
Direct communications with hospitals on care of discharged patients and more work around vaccination are two other areas pharmacists are expected to take on.
Two pharmacist clinical directors will front the developments, says the Department of Health.
Discussion on the white paper proposals begins on May 1, when both health staff and patients will have a chance to respond during public meetings from that date held across the country. Consultation on it will follow later this year.
"Pharmacists have an important role to play in providing access to healthcare for the most vulnerable members of the community and in providing joined-up medicines advice across primary & secondary care. The recognition of this 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," said Hemant Patel, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
Pharmacists must grasp this opportunity and make sure it worked for the public, he added.
The RPSGB is setting out a set of professional standards to maintain quality services which it will be discussing with the Government.
The BMA welcomed the government plan, saying it was "a helpful move" commissioning pharmacists to help improve health outcomes.