We can help save the NHS, says Boots chief

The boss of pharmacy giant Boots has promised to reduce waiting times at doctors’ surgeries and “help solve the NHS crisis” if given the green light to provide more services.

CEO Seb James wants his pharmacists to be able to prescribe medicines that are paid for by the NHS and are currently only available to patients through a GP or doctor.

He also wants the health department to step up its efforts to encourage people suffering from minor ailments such as sore throat, athlete’s foot and earaches to visit their local drugstore before resorting to the health department.

Boots is the UK’s largest drugstore chain, with over 2,200 stores. Bosses told The Mail on Sunday the group could be ready to provide support “within weeks”.

The NHS has been under a lot of pressure this winter with more than 7.2 million patients awaiting hospital treatment.

James said more support from pharmacies could ease the pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals, where emergency services can become congested with people with relatively minor ailments who have no other access to treatment.

Pharmacies in England are currently not allowed to write free NHS prescriptions – unlike those in Scotland and Wales.

The Department of Health is considering proposals that would give high street pharmacists a greater role in treating basic diseases. It could allow pharmacies to be paid by the NHS to provide consultations and treatments, prescribe medicines, including antibiotics, and refer patients to a GP. The proposed service has been named Pharmacy First.

James said Britain has 11,000 pharmacists, all highly qualified medical professionals, who are currently underutilized.

“We can help solve the NHS crisis,” he said. ‘We could reduce waiting times for GPs enormously. And we could reduce waiting times for chronic care enormously.’

He said pharmacists can also help many hospital patients to be discharged earlier.

Boots and other drugstore chains are in talks with ministers. The firms claim the potential plans could put the NHS on a much more sustainable footing and deliver ‘significant savings’.

James believes the proposals could save health care nearly £2bn every year. “We have to recognize that something has to change,” he said.

A range of hospital trusts and ambulance services have recently reported critical incidents as they grapple with the combination of record backlogs and rising flu and Covid cases. Some health chiefs have claimed delays are leading to about 500 additional deaths per week.

James’ plea comes as parts of Britain’s community pharmacy network are on the verge of collapse. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee – which includes major chains and independent pharmacists – says government funding has been cut by 30 percent over the past seven years and “is now leading to a serious deterioration in patient services.”

It has called for more investment in the sector and for cuts to be reversed.

All qualified pharmacists in England can prescribe medicines, but the NHS will not subsidize the cost to patients. However, in Wales and Scotland, the NHS directs pharmacists to prescribe medicines.

Marc Donovan, director of healthcare development at Boots, said this had had ‘a real impact’ in easing pressure on local Welsh and Scottish NHS systems.

“It’s pretty simple and can be rolled out in a matter of weeks,” says Donovan. ‘The entire healthcare system is under pressure and there is a more efficient way to manage minor ailments in particular.’

Boots believes a policy change in England would reduce the need for 47 million GP appointments a year.

Figures from the program in Wales show it led to an 18 per cent reduction in GP workload and an 8 per cent reduction in ED visits for minor ailments.

James added: ‘In Scotland and Wales it works and it’s incredibly useful. We don’t understand why it isn’t being used in England.’

A Ministry of Health spokesman said: ‘Pharmacists already provide a range of clinical services and over the next 18 months we will increase the support that pharmacists – qualified medical health professionals – can provide.’