As winter pressures grow across the health service, Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England Ms Thorrun Govind has called for Government action to support pharmacy teams currently experiencing huge demand for their services.

“Pharmacy teams are under immense pressure at the moment, in common with other NHS services, and working extremely hard with health service colleagues to provide the right care for patients,” said Ms Govind.

“As winter pressures mount, pharmacies see increased numbers of patients seeking support with illness and also because they have heard other areas of the health service are struggling to cope.  

“Staffing pressures, alongside an increase in workload, create an extra burden which takes a toll on the wellbeing of pharmacy teams. Data* shows that 90% of pharmacists report they are unable to spend as much time with their patients as previously.

“Issues such as medicine shortages can also take up many hours of time for pharmacy teams tracking down medicines when they could be directly helping patients. 

“However, pharmacies remain the most accessible part of the health service and provide expert advice to patients without the need for an appointment and are open long hours and at weekends.

“RPS wants to see the Government support pharmacy to give the best possible service for patients. In particular we’d like to see a properly funded minor ailments service in pharmacies across England so patients can get the same advice and treatment prescribed for common illnesses as provided by general practice. This would improve access to care for patients, relieve some of the workload of GPs and enable community pharmacists to use their skills to benefit patient care.

“We’d also like to see the Government enable more efficient ways of working, such as allowing community pharmacists to make amends to prescriptions during medicines shortages to ease supply issues and to maximise all the roles in the pharmacy team. The pharmacy workforce must be included in the Government’s upcoming long-term workforce plan to address issues around education, training, and skill mix in pharmacies.

“The months ahead will be challenging. However, there are opportunities to better use the pharmacy workforce to optimise workloads across primary care and by working together, can we develop long-term solutions which benefit all and put patients first.”

The story was covered by numerous broadcasters including BBC News Channel,  BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky News, Radio 1 Newsbeat and BBC World.

Watch Thorrun Govind explain more about the pressures on pharmacy in England on BBC News Channel and listen on 5 Live:

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