England

New measures to ease the pressure in pharmacies

We've responded to new measures to cut bureaucracy and help ease immediate pressures on community pharmacies.

Commenting on the Covid booster programme and today’s announcement from the PSNC about measures to help ease the immediate pressures on community pharmacies, Chair of RPS in England Thorrun Govind said:

“On 13 December, 1,500 community pharmacies delivered 185,000 Covid booster vaccines in England* - 44% of all boosters that day - which is an extraordinary feat.

“If the Government is to meet its ambitious target on boosters, teams will need immediate support to upscale capacity at existing sites.

“It is welcome to see new measures to cut bureaucracy and help ease immediate pressures on community pharmacies, as well as the pausing of GPhC inspections. It is vital that teams working across the health service are given similar flexibilities and can re-prioritise workload, so they can focus on vaccinations efforts and delivering essential patient care.

“The workforce is under enormous pressure and is delivering boosters at an incredible rate, so employers must ensure staff take adequate rest breaks.

“With thousands more pharmacists saying they are ready to get involved in the vaccination campaign, this is still an untapped resource and the Government will need to look again at approving additional sites as quickly as possible.”

Hear Thorrun talking about the booster programme on BBC Radio 4

Read more RPS news.

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