Pharmacies could save the NHS millions a day
OTC treatment of minor ailments could save the NHS up to £7.5m
per day |
GP consultations about minor ailments, which could be better treated with advice from a pharmacist together with over-the-counter medicines, cost the NHS £7.5m a day, according to a new consumer survey.
Commenting on the findings, the Proprietary Association of Great Britain’s
director of health policy and public affairs, Gopa Mitra, said: “What
is worrying is the continuing reliance on the GP for information and
advice. There are still 300,000 GP consultations a day for minor ailments
that don’t need to be seen by a GP. The resulting cost to the NHS
is £7.5 million a day. This alone demonstrates how much more needs
to be made of pharmacists and the role of self care.”
The survey, jointly commissioned by the PAGB and Reader’s Digest,
showed that GPs were the most popular source of health information, being
used by 85 per cent of the population. Pharmacists came third in the
table (68 per cent), behind family and friends (73 per cent). But this
is an improvement on a previous PAGB survey in 1997 that put pharmacists
in seventh place, behind doctors, magazines, friends and family, radio
and television, newspapers and leaflets.
The popularity of GPs as a source of health information was reflected
in actual use, with 69 per cent of people having visited a GP to discuss
their general health or for advice on a common ailment in the previous
12 months. The comparable figure for pharmacies was 55 per cent.
When it comes to factors that influence choosing OTC medicines, the survey
indicated that advice from pharmacy staff is secondary to previous personal
experience. The most popular places to obtain OTC medicines were Boots
The Chemists, followed by supermarkets’ general shelves, independent
pharmacies and supermarket in-store pharmacies. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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