The head of the Dispensing Doctors Association (DDA) has called for pharmacists to focus more on the management of long-term conditions to reduce GPs' workload, after a survey revealed that doctors receive daily visits from patients with no medical need.

Fifty-four per cent of 1,195 practice managers, nurses and GPs surveyed between July and August 2013 said they saw six or more patients a day who had no medical reason to be there. Eleven per cent saw at least 20 of these patients a day, according to the survey  by clinical research and publishing company Campden Health, published yesterday (September 2).

The most common reason for unnecessary visits was minor ailments, followed by inappropriate requests for antibiotics and repeat prescriptions, Campden Health said, costing the NHS an estimated £3.2m a day in GP fees.

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	DDA chair and GP Richard West said it was inevitable that surgeries would see some patients with minor ailments, but, by focusing on the management of long-term conditions, pharmacists could reduce GPs' workload.

"You've got something like hypertension where patients are on one or two drugs. The pharmacist is perfectly capable of monitoring and controlling those and they don't need to come anywhere near me," Dr West told C+D.

The survey also named Inappropriate requests for specific drugs, making a social visit and seeking reassurance as reasons for unnecessary visits and the most common approach to dealing with them was to arrange a phone call with a GP or nurse. Only a small proportion of patients were directed to a community service, the survey found.

NPA head of external relations Stephen Fishwick said the findings added to the "strong" case for a national minor ailments scheme and coincided with autumn's Ask Your Pharmacist campaign, which will promote pharmacy support for self-care.

"This is fresh evidence that people can often be treated more conveniently and appropriately in pharmacies than elsewhere in the health system," he told C+D.

In May, pharmacy leaders called for pharmacists to receive payments to help out overloaded GPs, after health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that pressures on GPs were compromising patient care.