Pharmacies in England will be able to offer primary care and prescribe certain drugs to patients, according to a new plan announced on Tuesday by the government of Rishi Sunak aimed at easing the current pressure on GPs.
As part of this initiative, patients will be asked to turn to pharmacies to obtain prescriptions for some common drugs, including antibiotics, and to undergo routine tests, in order to relax the pressure that currently falls on doctors.
Public health body NHS England says the new plan will free up to 15 million medical appointments over the next two years, representing 2% of the total.
The so-called Primary Care Recovery Plan aims to renew the services of family doctors by transferring part of their work to other sections of health services.
Pharmacies will be able to prescribe drugs to treat a number of diseases: ear pain, sore throat, sinusitis, impetigo, herpes, infected insect bites and urinary tract infections in women, provided they do not present complications.
Birth control pills will also be prescribed in pharmacies without having to go through the doctor's office beforehand, while patients can self-refer to consultations with some specialists such as physiotherapists or podiatrists.
The CEO of that body, Amanda Pritchard, indicated that pharmaceutical services will receive an item of 645 million pounds (742 million euros) in the next two years to boost staff and resources.
"We're already seeing half a million more patients a week in GP offices than before the pandemic," Pritchard told local media. "We know we need to go further to expand services and transform the way we provide care," she added.
According to this program, to relax the current system that forces the patient to call his outpatient clinic at 08.00 local time (07.00 GMT) to request a medical appointment on the day, medical centers will receive 240 million pounds (275 million euros) destined to modernize and be able to attend the multiple calls.
- United Kingdom
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