Scottish health action plan makes use of pharmacy
Community pharmacies will be the location for a new pilot that aims
to provide patients in Scotland with walk-in access to a wide range of
health services.
The pilot is one of the initiatives described in the
Scottish Government’s
new action plan for health, “Better
health, better care”,
announced last week by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola
Sturgeon.
The plan states that the pharmacies will provide a
range of services, such as sexual health screening and treatment, simple
diagnostic
tests, some adult immunisations and nurse-led minor injury clinics. Community
pharmacies will be chosen from a variety of locations, including main
commuter points, major shopping centres and city centres.
“The intention is that the pilots will offer convenient access
to a mix of primary care services available during normal pharmacy hours
and in
some cases extended to include out-of-hours periods such as evenings,
Saturdays and Sundays,” explained Alison Strath, principal pharmaceutical
officer, Scottish Government.
“The services provided through the
community pharmacy walk-in pilots will complement, not replace or compete
with, other primary and community-based health services.”
Five NHS boards have been selected as locations for the pilots: NHS Grampian,
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian and NHS
Tayside. The pharmacy sites and the services they will each provide,
will be subject to agreement with the five boards based on local needs.
NHS24 is also involved in discussions from an out-of-hours perspective.
The pilot is expected to start by the end of March 2008.
The action plan also highlights the Scottish community pharmacy contract’s
public health service (PHS) as something that could be extended to improve
access to public health services. On this, Ms Strath said: “We
have yet to consider what specific services might be included in an extension
of PHS but there is plenty of scope.”
Examples include sexual health
services, the “Healthy Start” scheme (for children) and the “Keep
Well” initiative (health screening and advice for people in deprived
areas). Ms Strath added that discussions about extending PHS will take
place with Community Pharmacy Scotland.
Hospital pharmacists are expected to have roles in two initiatives described
in the action plan. Hospitals will have to implement “medication
reconciliation” in order to prevent adverse drug events, something
that has been piloted at NHS Tayside as part of the Safer
Patients Initiative (PJ, 28 July 2007, p95).
Hospitals will also need to take steps to prevent harm from “high
alert medication”, initially focusing on anticoagulants, sedatives,
narcotics and insulin.
“This is about improving patient safety, optimising the benefits
from medicines and reducing the risks of any misadventures or accidental
deaths,” said
Ms Strath. “Pharmacists will have a key role to play in supporting
this.”
Pharmacy reaction to “Better health, better care”
“Better health, better care” has been
greeted positively by pharmacy organisations in Scotland.
“We are encouraged by the minister’s commitment to pilot walk-in
access to a range of primary care services via community pharmacies,” said
Alex MacKinnon, head of corporate affairs at Community Pharmacy
Scotland. “The
Scottish Government has increasingly recognised the skills of community
pharmacists and this has been demonstrated by the introduction
of new pharmaceutical care services. Community pharmacy’s
accessibility is once again being recognised.”
Rose Marie Parr, chairman of the Scottish Pharmacy Board of the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “I am encouraged to see that
the minister recognises the growing importance that pharmacists are
playing in a flexible patient-centred health service.” She
added: “We have long campaigned for pharmacies to be seen as
an integral partner in the NHS health care team and this announcement
takes us a step closer to that goal.” |
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