The government has just announced that it will be funding a pharmacy common ailment scheme in England as part of a huge £645 million investment for the pharmacy industry over the course of the next two years.
Seven new conditions are being implemented under the common ailment scheme (Pharmacy First) which include:
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women
- Earache
- Sinusitis
- Sore throat
- Impetigo
- Insect bites
- Shingles
The aim is to free up GP appointments and lighten the burden on GP’s by allowing community pharmacies to provide more care to patients. The pot of money will be split between other services although the finer details have not yet been negotiated. Over the last few months pharmacy has been under a lot of examination in terms of pressures and funding and where help is desperately needed. The investment will form part of drastic measures to improve primary care. NHSE has said that this major extension of services will allow millions of patients to obtain more efficient, quicker and easily accessible care from their pharmacy than ever before. It is estimated that this investment could save up to 10 million GP appointments per year.
This has been the most significant investment in over a decade for the pharmacy sector and it surely is a sign of hope for the industry who has battled with increased workload and pressures since the pandemic – being the only healthcare team to be available for patients when GP’s, dentists and opticians were closed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the 8am GP appointment rush and allow pharmacies to expand their services. Pharmacy First is a scheme that has been running for years in Scotland and is well established – as a Scottish pharmacist I know first hand how beneficial services like this can be for the patients but also for relieving pressure from the GP’s however its worth noting that the workload is passed onto the pharmacists – not mitigated or absorbed through these services. I hope the government has a plan with its investment to help support the pharmacists and pharmacy teams who will begin to implement these new services.