Pharmacy

Right now, hospital patients across Britain benefit from the expertise of pharmacists. It’s time primary care patients had access to the same expertise.

With a shortfall in GP and nurse numbers, pharmacists should step in to ensure better primary patient care.

Every day, GP surgeries deal with dozens of medicine-related queries and problems. An on-site pharmacist would manage these, helping to reduce GP workload.

A pharmacist would liaise with hospitals, community pharmacies and care homes. They would also help reduce medication errors and waste.

In 2015, the NHS in England launched the GP Practice Pilot – a £31m scheme to fund, recruit and employ clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries. This has now been extended across Great Britain.

Thanks to the pilot, over seven million patients now benefit from access to a Clinical Pharmacist, and if successful, the pilot will strengthen the case for pharmacists in GP surgeries.

Pharmacy roles in primary care include:

Please see GP Surgeries (rpharms.com) for more information.