The Conservative Party has started to unveil a series of proposals for enhancing the role of the pharmacist. They include limited prescribing by pharmacists and a scheme under which people with mental illnesses could receive their medicines under supervision at a pharmacy on daily basis.
At a press conference on December 15, the Shadow Health Secretary (Dr Liam Fox) said that he had been in talks with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and others about drawing up a list of medicines suitable for prescribing by pharmacists. He said that if prescribing by nurses was acceptable there was no reason why pharmacists should not also prescribe.
Dr Fox said that the proposal for daily dispensing of antipsychotic drugs was designed to help usher patients back into the community in cases where there might be compliance problems. Just as importantly, it would give patients another point of contact within the community. The system would be similar to that already in place for methadone patients. Remuneration for pharmacists' additional work would have to be arranged.
Commenting on the announcement, the Society's director of public affairs (Ms Beverley Parkin) said: "We believe that pharmacists have a larger contribution to make to front-line patient care. We welcome recognition of our role and encourage all politicians to take an interest in pharmacy.
"The Government and the profession have been working for some time on a strategy to take pharmacy forward within the new NHS. We expect this new strategy to be published shortly, and Dr Fox's proposals are a useful contribution to the debate we will then have. We will seek to continue our dialogue with Dr Fox, and with all other policy makers and interested parties, to ensure that the best possible pharmacy services are achieved."