Rishi Sunak’s pharmacy ‘revolution’ frees up 10 million GP appointments a year: Major NHS shake-up gives chemists power to dish out drugs for seven minor ailments

Patients can now see their pharmacist for seven common conditions as part of Rishi Sunak’s healthcare ‘revolution’.

From today, more than 10,000 pharmacies in England will assess and treat patients for illnesses such as sinusitis, sore throat, earache and shingles.

Patients can also go to the pharmacy for impetigo, infected insect bites and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women under the age of 65, without the need for a GP or prescription.

The measure is intended to increase access to care and free up 10 million GP appointments per year, allowing GPs to treat people with the most serious conditions.

The Prime Minister, whose mother ran his local pharmacy in Southampton, said the Pharmacy First program will spark a ‘mini revolution in mainstream healthcare’.

Patients can also go to the pharmacy for impetigo, infected insect bites and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women under the age of 65, without the need for a GP or prescription.

To write The Telegraphhe said: “Local pharmacies are at the heart of our communities – and they are close to my heart too, as my mother set up and ran our local pharmacy in Southampton when I was growing up.

‘So we’re launching Pharmacy First across England, starting a mini revolution in mainstream healthcare.

‘This new service will make it faster, easier and more convenient for millions of people to access NHS care for common conditions. It saves people time and effort to quickly get the simple medicines they need.”

Mr Sunak said the reforms are “simple” but amount to the biggest shake-up in pharmacy in years and will bring benefits to the entire NHS.

Eight in 10 people live within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy and many have private consultation rooms, which can put patients at ease, he noted.

The Prime Minister said: ‘Patients needing treatment or prescription medicines for common conditions such as earache can now get them directly from the pharmacy, without an appointment with a GP.

‘This is about making sure people get the treatment they need closer to home, while it is vital to deliver on our plan to reduce waiting lists, freeing up 10 million GP appointments a year so people can get access faster get the care they need.”

The plan is supported by £645 million in funding over the next two years.

Nine in ten pharmacies across the country have signed up to the scheme, receiving an initial lump sum of £2,000 plus £1,000 per month for providing a minimum number of appointments, as well as £15 per consultation.

Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS England, said: ‘GPs are already treating millions more people every month than before the pandemic, but with an aging population and growing demand we know that the NHS needs to give people more choice and improve access to care. should make it simple. easily possible.’

Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, welcomed the move but warned that pharmacies are already underfunded by £1.2 billion, forcing many to reduce opening hours or close.

She added: ‘This nonsense cannot continue and this stranglehold of chronic underfunding must be lifted now to ensure our community pharmacies survive and can deliver the potential the Government expects.’

Health Minister Dame Andrea Leadsom said the country is ‘very well served’ by pharmacists, despite a reduction in their numbers across the country.

She told Times Radio: ‘We are obviously closely monitoring the opening and closing of pharmacies, and many are opening as well as closing. There has been a net reduction, but not on a large scale.’

Dame Angela said the Government is “keeping a close eye” on their numbers, noting they receive £2.6 billion in funding a year.

She told Sky News the new scheme will allow GPs to focus on the most complex cases, enable pharmacists to work ‘to the top of their training’ and ‘increased visitor numbers through the pharmacy sector’.

The latest data from NHS England shows that just 67.9 per cent of the 31.5 million GP appointments made in November were face-to-face

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said the plan would “strengthen pharmacists’ strengths as medicine experts” and free up GPs.

He said: ‘Patients receive useful clinical advice, close to where they live, work and shop.

‘The pharmacy sector is under great pressure, but despite this, pharmacy teams will do their utmost to successfully deliver this very useful service.

‘This could be a stepping stone to the development of other NHS clinical services in the future, as patients become comfortable with going to their local pharmacy for primary care.’

It comes as doctors today warned that a ‘national health emergency’ should be declared due to the dire state of the NHS.

The BMJ Committee on the Future of the NHS, made up of experts in medicine and healthcare, said an “urgent reset” and “radical change” are needed.

The group, led by Lord Nigel Crisp, member of the House of Lords, where he co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health, blames the current crisis on years of underfunding, crippling staff shortages and the UK’s aging population . .

“The healthcare system is in crisis, the breaking point has been exceeded,” they warned.

Wes Streeting, Labour’s health secretary, said: ‘You would have to live on Mars not to see that the NHS is in an emergency.

‘The BMJ is right to say that the founding principles of the NHS are as relevant today as they were 75 years ago. It is Conservative neglect for fourteen years that has caused this mess.

‘They are also right to say that the NHS needs a long-term plan for investment and reform if it is to survive.

‘For example, the last Labor government achieved the shortest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction in history. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.’