Pharmacy role in sexual health highlighted as new funding is announced for England
Pharmacy’s place as a provider of sexual health services has been reaffirmed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee in their responses to a Government pledge of new funding for contraception in England.
Coinciding with the fpa’s Contraceptive Awareness Week (11–17 February), the Government has announced a £26.8m package to improve access to contraception and help reduce unwanted teenage pregnancies. However, £12.8m of this money is to go to primary care trusts as part of their main allocations, to be used for contraceptive services but not ring-fenced for this purpose.
In its response, the PSNC pointed out that a nationally funded service from community pharmacy could “substantially help reduce the prevalence of teenage pregnancies”.
£14m of funds will be allocated by the Department of Health for strategic health authorities to develop and pilot innovative ways of improving young people’s access to contraception and advice on sexual health. One possibility mooted by the DoH is the placement of condom kiosks in community pharmacies.
The Government is also keen to raise awareness of the many types of contraceptive methods available to women, such as intrauterine systems, hormonal injections and subdermal implants.
Commenting on behalf of the Society, David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement, said that the Society was keen to support Government initiatives that widen access to a range of effective forms of contraception. “We hope that increased choice for the public will result in more women being able to use the most appropriate method for their lifestyle.” He went on to highlight pharmacists’ experience in “supplying a range of methods of contraception to the public. They use their expertise daily in providing information and advice to women on the effective use of contraception.”
The PSNC added: “Community pharmacies offer access to a trained healthcare professional without appointment and at a time to suit the patient. This is often at times of the day when other providers may be closed or are unavailable. Many pharmacies currently provide emergency hormonal contraception through primary care trust sponsored schemes. These schemes are designed not only to reduce teenage pregnancy but also allow the pharmacist to provide valuable information and guidance on sexual health in general.”
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