The Welsh Parliament has been told of the pressures facing pharmacy teams and of the need for the workforce’s wellbeing and training requirements to be prioritised in covid recovery plans.
Giving evidence to the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into waiting times, RPS Wales Director Elen Jones emphasised that the pandemic highlighted more than ever the pressures on the pharmacy workforce.
While explaining the increased prescribing capacity and pharmacy’s potential to help tackle health inequalities, she stressed the need for workforce planning that allows pharmacists enough time to learn, teach and embed new skills. This, she said, is key to maintaining a motivated and sustainable workforce.
Commenting on the hearing, Elen Jones said:
“I was pleased to give evidence alongside colleagues from the Royal College of General Practitioners, Community Pharmacy Wales and the Royal College of Nursing.
“Our key message to the committee was clear; while more can be done to harness the expert skills and knowledge of pharmacists, this must always be underpinned by proper workforce planning that accounts for workload pressures and builds in sufficient training time”.
“I was also pleased to be able to highlight other important points including:
- The increase in the number of clinical services provided by community pharmacists.
- The benefits of independent prescribing services and the required steps to take full advantage of prescribing pharmacists
- The need for direct referral pathways to and from community pharmacies to other NHS services.
- Emphasising that services such as NHS 111 should be better promoted to be public once services are universally available throughout Wales ”.
“We look forward to the committee’s final report and recommendation and will continue to champion pharmacy’s role in the Senedd”.
You can watch the session in full here.