White Paper could strengthen pharmacist-GP relationships
Relationships between community pharmacy and general practice could be strengthened if the pharmacy
White Paper is acted on sensibly, Howard Stoate, MP (Lab, Dartford), GP and All-Party Pharmacy Group chairman, indicated at an information prescriptions conference in London this week.
“Often relationships between pharmacists and GPs simply aren’t
as well developed or as fruitful as they ought to be,” Dr Stoate
said.
He made the point that many members of the medical profession are reluctant
to acknowledge the expertise of pharmacists, adding: “The Royal
College of GPs, for example, recently warned that pharmacists are not
doctors — although they may know a great deal about medicines they
have not been trained as diagnosticians. And that is sometimes seen as
a difficulty.”
Nevertheless, he said: “I think that, taken forward sensibly, the
White Paper proposals won’t undermine the GP-patient relationship
and won’t damage the relationship between the GP and the pharmacist — I
think it should significantly strengthen it.”
Dr Stoate added: “The White Paper is more than just a statement
of faith in pharmacy; it contains very practical measures … to ensure
the profession does realise its potential.”
Dr Stoate acknowledged that many pharmacists are frustrated by the pace
of change since the introduction of the pharmacy contract three years
ago. “Government figures still show that a quarter of primary care
trusts [in England] are genuinely involving community pharmacists in
healthcare strategies,” he pointed out.
“Now, however, the
Government said that it planned to direct all primary care trusts to
commission certain services from pharmacies according to local needs.”
He also revealed his own frustration at “pharmacists not banging
on GPs’ doors, not banging on PCTs’ doors, not thrusting
themselves into the limelight” to break down barriers between pharmacy
and the rest of the health service. “No one else is going to do
it,” he said. |
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