Conservatives must ‘show need’ behind plans for 24-hour pharmacies
Contractors have raised concerns about Scottish Conservative proposals to introduce 24-hour pharmacies.
The party proposed “extend[ing] the opening times of pharmacies to provide more round-the-clock care, with the potential for 24-hour pharmacies”, as part of its “five-point plan” to “make pharmacies a key partner in primary healthcare”, which it published last week (July 27).
Noel Wicks, director of 22-strong Scottish chain Right Medicine Pharmacy, told C+D that “you’d have to show there’s a need for it”, pointing out that out-of-hours support is already available via telephone advice and triage service NHS24.
There would also be a “problem of resources” in finding enough pharmacists to work these shifts, Mr Wicks – who is National Pharmacy Association representative for Scotland – told C+D today (August 1).
He estimated that keeping 20 community pharmacies open for 24 hours would require “another 100 pharmacists who want to work full-time at unsociable hours”.
“The ongoing recruitment for independent prescribers is [already] going to be a strain on the workforce,” he said. “It’s all good stuff, but where do we get the money and resources from?”
However, some “urban areas may well justify a 24-hour service”, he added.
“Not needed everywhere”
Allan Gordon, managing director of the 37-strong Davidsons Chemist chain, told C+D that “extended hours is not needed everywhere”, but it is “a good idea in certain areas”.
“The regulations work well in Scotland and I wouldn't want us to start going down the auto-exemption 100-hour opening route that England wandered down some years ago,” he added.
Implementation will be “challenging”
The Scottish Conservative party said that with 24-hour access to community pharmacies, the country would have “more round-the-clock care”.
“To begin with, we believe that within NHS24 an independent prescriber pharmacist service should be utilised to provide services within areas of competence to support out-of-hours service provision,” it explained.
CPS brands proposals “challenging”
Community Pharmacy Scotland director of operations Matt Barclay told C+D that pharmacies operating for 24 hours would be “challenging”.
“Any extension of provision would need to be done carefully and in conjunction with evidenced need,” Mr Barclay said.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland agreed, stating: “We would be cautious about establishing 24-hour provision without evidence to support this.”
What else was in the five-point plan?
The 24-hour pharmacy service was one of five points the Scottish Conservative party raised in its plan for pharmacy, aimed at easing pressure on GPs.
RPS deputy director in Scotland Aileen Bryson said her organisation has been “working closely” with the Scottish Conservatives to develop their policy.
“We are pleased to see that many of our recommendations have been brought forward,” she said.
The plan includes:
- Full read-write access to records
“Community pharmacists should have access to patient records. The RPS believes all pharmacists…should have full read and write access to the patient health records.”
- More independent prescribers
“Community pharmacists should become independent prescribers, with the core aim being to allow more common ailments to be treated in pharmacy clinics.”
- Pharmacists to lead medicine reviews
“This relates directly to our ultimate aim of reducing the workload pressures currently faced by GPs.”
- Greater clinical role for pharmacists
“The RPS believes this should apply to the frontline in pharmacies, where the roles of accuracy checking technicians and pharmacy technicians are key to freeing up pharmacists’ time to enable patient-facing care.”
Source: Five-point Plan for Pharmacies, Scottish Conservatives
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