Video Consultation Extended to Pharmacies in Wales

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has welcomed the announcement that video consultation services will be extended to community pharmacies in Wales.

An initial pilot will be taking place throughout July before a wider national roll out. This follows the successful roll-out of the service to general practice and secondary care during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the development, RPS Wales Chair Suzanne Scott-Thomas said:

“Not only will the roll out of video consultation technology help protect pharmacy teams and the public from increased risk of infection, it will also ensure that patients can continue to benefit from the clinical services available from their community pharmacist”.

“We have heard from our members working in secondary and primary care settings that being able to support patients via video consultation has been a valuable addition to their practice over recent months. We have been clear in our ‘policy asks’ to the national governments across Great Britain that video conferencing must be extended to community pharmacies, so that continuity of care and services provided by community pharmacists can also be maintained. We’re therefore delighted that the Welsh Government has made this commitment to the sector in Wales.

“Whilst this is of course very welcome news in the short-term context of Covid-19, this is also a noteworthy step on the professions’ journey to meeting the aims of its long term vision in Wales”.