The NHS has announced that thousands of trained pharmacists across London will be now able to assess and treat patients for seven common conditions, bringing more healthcare to the high street and alleviating pressure on GP services.
Rather than needing a GP appointment or prescription, Londoners will now be able to visit their local pharmacy for treatment for sinusitis, sore throat, ear ache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women under 65.
These services will be available at pharmacies across the capital, with more than 90% of NHS community pharmacies in London – 1,637 in total – included in the initiative. The expansion of pharmacy services will give the public more choice in where and how they access care, and it aims to free up more than 1million GP appointments per year in London.
More than 30,000 people are already supported each month by their community pharmacy when they start new medicines, and more than 200,000 blood pressure checks were taken over the last year, allowing those with high blood pressure to be identified and referred for onward management.
Tony Carson is NHS London’s pharmacy integration lead. He said: “The roll-out of expanded services via London’s pharmacies is a step toward making healthcare more accessible and efficient for communities across London.
“This is great news for the public – from today you can pop into one of more than 1,600 high street NHS pharmacies in London to get assessed and treated for seven common conditions at a convenient time, with many pharmacies open late into the evening.”
Raj Matharu who runs a family-owned community pharmacy in southeast London, said he is “thrilled” by the initiative. “By assessing and treating common conditions, we can offer faster and easier access to healthcare right here on the high street.
“The expansion of pharmacy services will also allow GPs to refer common conditions to community pharmacy teams which will reduce pressures, and by working together, make access to healthcare more convenient.”
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This looks like a useful step. However, there does seem to be a crisis in the pharmacy sector, partly shortage of supplies, but also apparently a problem of profitability, causing a number of closures.
There is a shortage of supplies in Europe, too. French pharmacy substituted diabetes product yesterday for a different brand, packets often printed in language other than French. At least I was able to obtain an asthma product in France which wasn’t available in Croydon last week, and one Croydon pharmacy said it was a worldwide shortage!
French pharmacies are also beginning to perform tests for bacterial infections before handing over antibiotics without seeing a GP, and GPs are doing the same, rather than using local laboratories.
Splitting life between Croydon and France gives a different perspective, the same problems arise in each country. UK isn’t much worse, just dirtier!
Diana has hit it in one. There is a worldwide shortage with quite complex causation.
Ferry biedermann (Seeking solutions to global drugs shortages
Ferry Biedermann, Published:March 04, 2023) wrote recently in the Lancet. Very good paper and worth a read.
One factor is off patent and generic medicines are making it uneconomic to manufacture drugs abroad in those main manufacturing areas so factories are focusing as businesses on those that carry the most profit.
That is the commercial biteback to Governemnts squeezing costs. Neither are wrong from their perspective but patients and in reality being held hostage to this.
The big question really is that should the EU and GB have to think about ramping up state owned (but not run) pharmacuticals in its own economic area as a near future option?
One factor does need real consideration today – Should this country be retaining more of the patents and licences from research publicly funded in this Country and developed in UK Universities and gain back a level of control in this area?
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