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GP practice pharmacists: fine, but not at expense of network

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GP practice pharmacists: fine, but not at expense of network

By Richard Thomas

Only the most blinkered and territorial would argue that closer collaboration between pharmacists and GPs is anything other than an obvious means of improving patient care. Yet the plans announced this month by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of General Practitioners may also have provided community pharmacists with an uncomfortable glimpse into the future.

Although both bodies are at pains to stress that community pharmacy is very much part of this brave new world, it was clear from the media headlines about “an army” of pharmacists working in GP practices where the real emphasis lay.

How might this be funded? Will NHS England dip its hand into its pocket to incentivise prospective GP employers? It does probably make sense from a workforce perspective with GP numbers on the slide at the same time as a glut of pharmacists fight for employment.

Nevertheless, for all the lofty ambitions of the proposals, they should only be considered in the context of the existing community pharmacy network – popular with patients, well used, highly accessible, open all hours, no appointment necessary. I am not wholly convinced this has been the case.

In the right circumstances, GP practice-based pharmacists could provide tangible patient benefits – as long as funding is not diverted or alternative commissioning platforms allowed to draw services away from community pharmacy, undermining the network in the process. Far better, surely, to invest in new models of pharmaceutical care here as well.

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