General election 2010

This Manifesto is the Scottish Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s (RPSGB) contribution to the debate on the challenges facing the NHS and how these challenges should be met following the UK General Election. We believe that considerable pressure on spending and the need to find substantial efficiency savings must lead to new ways to deliver care and improve the health of the nation. Pharmacies are accessible (99 per cent of the population live within 20 minutes’ journey time to a pharmacy) and staffed by highly-trained professionals. These professionals are well-placed to improve patient safety, prevent and treat disease and promote public health, while providing excellent value for money to the NHS.

In Scotland alone, there are over 1200 pharmacies and over 4000 registered pharmacists. Pharmacists are the healthcare experts in medicines and spend four years at university before undertaking a year’s pre-registration training. Pharmacy is of crucial importance to healthcare and to patients.

RPSGB urges the next UK Government to:

Complete the process of decriminalising dispensing errors

Outdated legislation treats any dispensing error- no matter how simple the error or how minor its effect – as an automatic criminal offence. This situation is not only unjust but deters pharmacists from reporting dispensing errors. However, improving patient safety depends on obtaining comprehensive information on adverse events. The MHRA and Department of Health have committed to review the Medicines Act to address this issue. We hope that all political parties can work together to secure a speedy resolution.

Ensure original pack dispensing for prescription medicines

Currently community pharmacists will often be forced to split the contents of manufacturers’ original packs when dispensing medication if the pack size does not correspond to the prescribed quantity. Stopping this practice would have benefits for patient safety because it would ensure that patients received their medication in its original pack and with the appropriate Patient Information Leaflet. Original Pack Dispensing would also reduce the workload of pharmacists who must take time to ‘snip’ the pack, repackage and source an additional Patient Information Leaflet. Addressing this would increase the time available to spend providing healthcare advice and support to patients.

Government should examine how original pack dispensing can be supported and pharmacists can be reimbursed for all the medicines they dispense.

Allow qualified pharmacists to assist those who require urgent treatment for extreme pain

Allowing suitably qualified pharmacists to prescribe controlled drugs, such as diazepam and morphine-based pain relief, in appropriate situations, would ensure patients receive their medicines as soon as needed and be more effective for the health service. Currently, patients must wait for a doctor or nurse to be available to prescribe a suitable treatment. Minor legislative changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 would allow pharmacists to provide timely help to those in need of pain relief, particularly those in the final stages of life.

Address the alarming vacancy rates of newly qualified hospital pharmacists

The national average rate for vacancies for newly qualified hospital pharmacists are unacceptably high, with a recent workforce study showing average graduate vacancies at approximately 25% of the total, and with some areas in Scotland experiencing vacancy rates of 40%. We believe that only the Government can take the action required to address the issue. The RPSGB will continue to work with the Department of Health to resolve this issue. 

In the past few years Scottish pharmacists have led the way for the profession in the UK

RPSGB calls on Scotland’s MPs to promote Scottish pharmacy’s successes:

In Scotland since 2006, all community pharmacies have been used to improve public health and ensure rapid detection of disease, making the profession in Scotland the most advanced in the UK. For example:

• Minor ailment service; This scheme encourages those with minor ailments, such as a cough or sprained ankle, to seek advice from their pharmacist instead of making an appointment with a GP. This service has been introduced in throughout Scotland and is highly cost-effective.
• Sexual healthcare services; In Scotland we have introduced a comprehensive sexual healthcare service, including advice on contraception, emergency hormonal contraception and Chlamydia testing and treatment.
• Smoking Cessation services; Scotland’s pharmacists also deliver smoking cessation advice and treatments such as Nicotine Replacement Therapies.  This service is a proven success in reducing the number of people who smoke.

In England and Wales however, access to these vital programmes are not universal. We recommend that the next UK government adopts the successful Scottish community pharmacy model and make provision of additional pharmacy services a nationally commissioned scheme.

Devolved pharmacy issues impacting on Scottish voters

Maintain the strong partnership between pharmaceutical services and medical services

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on who can offer NHS pharmaceutical services and how the application process works.  The Scottish Government position is that patients are best served when they have access to both medical services from doctors and pharmaceutical services from pharmacists wherever possible. The Scottish Pharmacy Board supports this position and calls on all political parties to work together on this issue.

Support pharmacists to deliver their new responsibilities through access to Emergency Care Summary records

Pharmacists expanded contribution to patient care requires information exchange with other health professionals, including appropriate access to patients’ healthcare records. The Scottish Pharmacy Board calls on the political parties to support access to the Emergency Care Summary for community and hospital pharmacists.

Work with the pharmacy profession to ensure successful introduction of the new Chronic Medication Service

The Chronic Medication Service will come into operation across Scotland’s pharmacies this year.  It will give pharmacists a new role in helping patients with long-term conditions such as diabetes to manage their conditions by reviewing the performance of medicines and tailoring prescriptions to ensure better healthcare outcomes. The Scottish Pharmacy Board will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure its successful introduction.