White Paper on pharmacy – RCGP response
03.04.08
Professor Steve Field, Chairman of
the Royal College of General Practitioners, said:
“We welcome the Paper and
support the extended role of pharmacists in healthcare promotion
and prevention - but we must remember that pharmacists are not
doctors and patients need to understand the difference.
“We must also acknowledge
that this is not a time saver for GPs but an enhancement of the
work of primary healthcare teams. By involving pharmacists in
preventative healthcare and screening, GPs will actually be busier
as we will be identifying more patients who might otherwise slip
through the net.
“A lot of patients
already go to pharmacies for advice and we believe that there are
opportunities for pharmacists to work much more closely with
patients, particularly in the area of healthcare promotion and
prevention - but this needs to be done in partnership with GPs and
primary healthcare teams, not instead of.
“The better use of
pharmacists will increase capacity in the NHS but we would be
concerned if this led to fragmentation, particularly in the
management of long term conditions. GPs and pharmacists undergo
different training and have very different skills. Pharmacists have
expertise in their understanding of medicines and therapeutics and
this would add to the work already being done by primary healthcare
teams to care for patients with chronic conditions. GPs, however,
are experts in diagnosis and management of patient’s complex
conditions and we must acknowledge that this is beyond the scope of
pharmacists.
“We see pharmacists as
playing a key role in the “federated” model of healthcare proposed
in the RCGP roadmap but they need to work in collaboration with GPs
and communication needs to be improved.
“Pharmacies are
businesses generating income and we would therefore need to ensure
that profit does not pollute the conversation and that there is no
conflict of interest between pharmacists giving advice and their
selling particular types of medication. They should be able to use
their skills, expertise and professionalism for the benefit of
patients without being under pressure to generate profit from those
consultations.”
ends.
For more information please contact the RCGP press
office 020 7344 3135/3136/3137/3129 or email press@rcgp.org.uk