NHS plans to treat more patients in pharmacies could fail because too many chemists have resigned to work in GP surgeries, industry leaders have warned.
The ‘Pharmacy First’ program will launch on Wednesday and will allow patients to receive care in more than 10,000 community pharmacies in England.
They will be able to attend a consultation with a pharmacist for seven conditions without needing to book an appointment or see a doctor.
NHS England hopes to free up up to 30 million GP appointments each year.
But the Business Chemists Association (CCA) warned the move is doomed to failure unless GP surgeries are banned from hiring more pharmacists.
NHS plans to treat more patients in pharmacies could fail because too many chemists have quit to work in GP surgeries, industry leaders have warned (File image)
The trade body, which represents leading chains such as Boots and Superdrug, said there were now so many pharmacists working for GPs that they were struggling to recruit into their stores.
The NHS has encouraged GPs to recruit non-medical staff such as pharmacists, physiotherapists and paramedics in a bid to fill staffing gaps and ease pressure on GPs.
But the ACC is now demanding an immediate freeze on recruitment.
The shortage has raised rates for substitute pharmacies, increasing the cost of marketing and causing temporary closures, he added.
The ‘Pharmacy First’ scheme will launch on Wednesday and will allow patients to receive care in more than 10,000 community pharmacies in England, but the Company Chemist Association (CCA) warned the initiative is doomed to fail unless doctors are banned of bedside to hire more pharmacists. )
This is because pharmacies cannot open unless there is at least one pharmacist on site.
Under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), which was introduced in 2019, the NHS reimburses GPs for the salaries and some costs of 17 staff roles within its healthcare teams, including ‘clinical pharmacists’. “.
By September 2023, almost 5,300 full-time equivalent pharmacists had been recruited into GP practices through the ARRS.
Meanwhile, the average alternative hourly rate in England has soared by 85 per cent, from £20.02 in 2020 to £37.14 in July 2023.
The CEC is calling for a pause on ARRS recruitment of pharmacists until an assessment of its impact on the sector and benefits to patients has been carried out.
Under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), which was introduced in 2019, the NHS reimburses GPs for the salaries and some costs of 17 staff roles within its healthcare teams, including ‘clinical pharmacists’. ” (file image)
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said: ‘In trying to solve the GP shortage, the NHS has simply created a shortage of community pharmacists and increased the cost of doing business.
‘This short-sighted “whack-a-mole” policy has been detrimental to the community pharmacy sector.
‘Pharmacies are being asked to take on more and more workload to free up GP capacity, but we need to get pharmacists back into pharmacies.
“We are excited about Pharmacy First, but we cannot offer the new service with one hand tied behind our back.”
By September 2023, almost 5,300 full-time equivalent pharmacists had been recruited to GP practices through the ARRS (file image).
Pharmacies that have signed up to NHS Pharmacy First will be able to withdraw and prescribe medicines for earaches, sore throats, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, urinary tract infections and infected insect bites and stings.
In 2019, the NHS launched the ARRS which outlines the “intention… to increase additional capacity through new roles and, in doing so, help address workforce shortages in general practice”.
However, a report by the King’s Fund think tank on ARRS found that many pharmacists felt they were “not given tasks appropriate to their competencies” and “many felt… undervalued”, while some “often felt isolated.” “.