Having more pharmacists should be an opportunity

With the shortage of GPs and other healthcare professionals well acknowledged, pharmacy should take advantage of the rising number of pharmacists and see this as a valuable opportunity to gain funding for new roles and services.

Firstly, the NHS is being told that it “needs to take prevention seriously”. This requires a serious scaling up of the public health services offered by pharmacies across England.

Secondly, there are so many patients who would benefit from personalised patient services from pharmacists to get better outcomes from their medicines. This work plays to the unique skills of pharmacists and could not easily be replicated by GPs or nurses, even if there were enough of them to go round.

Pharmacy must use its growing workforce to establish a greater role at the heart of primary care. This is a real opportunity for us all. There is plenty of work to be done in the NHS and pharmacists can help (and be paid) to do it.

 

Tracey Thornley

Election candidate

English Pharmacy Board

Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ, 9/16 May 2015, Vol 294, No 7861/2;294(7861/2):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2015.20068439

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