The primary care leaders last week (January 13) released a joint statement highlighting the need for a better use of skill mix, including more clearly defined roles and improved IT enablers for the service.

Some pharmacists are “undertaking work that would often be more appropriately provided by pharmacy technicians, pharmacy support workers or practice administrative staff”, the statement said, “resulting in an under-use of pharmacists’ clinical skills”.

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The statement added that pharmacists should be “focused predominantly on patient-facing clinical roles and responding to medicines-related enquiries from GPs”.

It is “vital” that there are enough pharmacy technicians and support workers available as “shortages” of these roles mean that pharmacists are often having to provide services that could be done by technicians or support workers, it said.

 

Service under “threat”

 

The RPS and BMA Scottish GP Committee said that “inadequate funding and workforce shortages are a real threat to the pharmacotherapy service”.

And they urged the Scottish government to reconsider its decision to reduce funding for training pharmacy technicians.

RPS director for Scotland Clare Morrison said: “In the statement, we stress that the use of pharmacists’ clinical skills must be maximised.

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“We want to see pharmacists using their pharmaceutical expertise and independent prescribing skills to deliver clinical medication reviews, support safer use of high-risk medicines and improve complex pharmaceutical care.”

But “right now, we continue to see the professional role of some pharmacists being undermined through having to provide services that would be more appropriately provided by pharmacy technicians or pharmacy support workers”, Ms Morrison added.

“This must be addressed urgently through proper skill mix, improved processes and better IT,” she said.

 

Steering group

 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We will continue to work with the BMA and RPS in the delivery of the pharmacotherapy service, as part of the 2018 GP contract.

 

“Almost 1,000 pharmacist and pharmacy technicians are working in the pharmacotherapy service, providing vital support to patients in the community such as ensuring the safe use of high-risk medicines andproviding medicine reviews.”

 

They added that a “national pharmacotherapy implementation steering group” including RPS and BMA representatives is “already looking in detail at the issues raised” in the statement.

 

“We continue to develop serial prescribing and we encourage all GP practices and their pharmacotherapy teams to make use of this facility,” the spokesperson said.

 

In May, NHS Education for Scotland confirmed it would fund an additional 186 independent prescribing places, saying this would help delivery of the pharmacotherapy service.