7 illnesses patients told not to see GP over and to go to pharmacist from today
Patients can from today walk into pharmacies and be treated for a host of common illnesses instead of waiting for a GP appointment.
A £645million deal with NHS England means people will be able to visit pharmacists on the High Street to receive treatment for seven conditions - earache, sore throats, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, urinary tract infections and infected insect bites and stings. Nine in ten community pharmacies in England are participating, 10,265 in total, and will now allow walk-in consultations without the need to book.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said: “GPs are already treating millions more people every month than before the pandemic, but with an ageing population and growing demand, we know the NHS needs to give people more choice and make accessing care as easy as possible.
“People across England rightly value the support they receive from their high street pharmacist, and with eight in ten living within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in areas of deprivation, they are the perfect spot to offer people convenient care for common conditions.”
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The scheme follows similar initiatives in Wales and Scotland. NHS England said it will free up 10 million GP appointments a year. It comes as an exodus of overworked GPs from the NHS is making it harder and harder for Brits to see a family doctor.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, welcomed the move but warned that pharmacies are “severely underfunded to the tune of £1.2 billion now and as a direct result of that are reducing opening hours and even closing completely”.
She added: “This nonsense cannot go on and this stranglehold of chronic underfunding must be relieved now to ensure our community pharmacies continue to exist and can deliver to the potential the Government is expecting.”
Rishi Sunak said he is 'determined to go further' and unlock the 'full potential' of pharmacies (PA)Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said the scheme will “play to the strengths of pharmacists as medicines experts” and free up GPs for other work.
“Patients will get convenient clinical advice, close to where they live, work and shop,” he added. “The pharmacy sector is under great pressure but, despite this, pharmacy teams will step up and successfully deliver this highly beneficial service. This could be a stepping stone to the development of other NHS clinical services in the future, as patients become familiar with going to their local pharmacy for primary care.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said: “Community pharmacies already do a tremendous job at treating minor conditions and with the Pharmacy First service backed by £645 million we’re determined to go further and unlock their full potential to deliver routine care.
“Patients who need treatment or prescription medication for common conditions like an earache will now be able to get it directly from a pharmacy, without a GP appointment. This is about ensuring people get the treatment they need closer to home, while crucially helping deliver on our plan to cut waiting lists, by freeing up 10 million GP appointments a year, so people get the care they need more quickly.”
Seb James, managing director of Boots, said: “This service makes it quicker and easier for patients to access the advice, care and treatment they need. It is one of the most significant changes in how we can serve our customers and patients in our 175-year history.”
NHS England said four in five people live within a 20-minute walk of a participating pharmacy. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, said: ““This is good news for patients and good news for the NHS.”
It comes in the week NHS England is also adding a new service to its app that could bring an end to paper prescriptions. The new feature will allow patients to see when their prescriptions have been issued and view their prescribed medication.
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From Tuesday, the digital prescriptions are available to millions of people and patients waiting for an elective hospital treatment will now be able to see the average waiting time for their procedure at their local trust. Users without a nominated pharmacy will be able to use a barcode in the app to collect their prescriptions from any pharmacy instead of requiring a paper version.
People with a nominated pharmacy can continue to collect medication without a paper prescription or barcode as details are sent to their pharmacy electronically. The NHS has said that the new features are part of a campaign to encourage more people to use the app in their everyday lives and to help free up time on the frontline.
Patients were already able to use the NHS App to request repeat prescriptions digitally and the number of repeat prescriptions ordered through the app has grown by 45% over the past year, with an average of 3.1 million now requested every month.
It comes as the Labour Party announces plans to use the NHS app to recruit volunteers for clinical trials to develop new vaccines and medicines. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting is hosting a roundtable meeting with pharmaceutical leaders promising to boost investment in UK life sciences by £10 billion a year.
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