Increased availability of community pharmacy services has meant
hundreds of thousands of people haven’t needed GP consultations,
Health Minister Eluned Morgan has announced.
Substantial reforms introduced in April 2022, mean a wider than
ever range of clinical services are being offered by community
pharmacists in Wales.
Today, a new report – ‘Presgripsiwn Newydd – A New Prescription –
One year on’ – has highlighted the beneficial impact of those
services for people needing to access primary care.
Almost all pharmacies across Wales now provide free advice and
treatment for common ailments, access to the morning after pill
and oral contraception, emergency supplies of medicines, and
influenza vaccinations, through the new Clinical Community
Pharmacy Service (CCPS).
The report shows more than half a million consultations took
place across all CCPS services in the first year following its
launch. This included nearly 240,000 consultations for a
range of common ailments such as sore throats, allergic reactions
and back pain - an increase of 73.9% on the year before and more
than a fivefold increase from five years ago, and more than
160,000 NHS seasonal flu vaccinations.
Almost 80% of people who visited a pharmacy and used the CCPS
reported they would have visited a GP or out of hours service if
it was not available, freeing up over 400K appointments for
others to see their GP.
For many people this means access to care closer to where they
live and work, usually without the need for an appointment. More
than 2,800 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have completed
the additional training which allows them to provide these
services.
A further 46,000 consultations took place in 119 pharmacies, with
a pharmacist prescriber who had undertaken additional training
enabling them to treat a wider range of illnesses such as urinary
tract, ear and skin infections which otherwise could only be
treated by a GP.
Minister for Health and Social Services, Eluned Morgan said:
“In the first year following our reforms, significant
progress has been made to utilise the skills, expertise and
accessibility of pharmacists in our communities more
effectively.”
“This is providing a stronger focus on clinical service
provision, on workforce development, and on promoting integration
of pharmacies within primary care, all alongside our largest ever
investment in the sector.”
“I am delighted to see it is helping to ensure more people
in Wales have access to the NHS care they need
from appropriately skilled professionals, closer to home,
whenever they need it.”
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Andrew Evans said:
“Pharmacists are experts in medicines and undergo extensive
training to provide clinical care including giving advice and
treatment for common conditions, contraception and
vaccinations.”
“Our community pharmacy reforms are not only improving access to
care but also ensuring we fully utilise the clinical skills and
expertise of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in every part
of Wales. The support we are providing means more pharmacists
than ever are completing additional training so they can
prescribe medicines for people reducing further still the number
of people who need to visit their GP.”
“For most people, their community pharmacy will be the most
accessible source of trusted advice and treatment when they feel
unwell. Enabling pharmacists to provide an extended range
of NHS clinical services means more people in Wales can access
the care they need, from their pharmacy, when they need it.”
