Pharmacy Daily | Unleash pharmacy’s capacity to care

AUTHORITIES in Western Australia are being urged to change regulations to allow pharmacists to help ease pressure on the State's stretched health system.

In an opinion piece in The West Australian, Pharmacy Guild of Australia WA Branch President, Andrew Ngeow, said pharmacists were ready, willing and able to work to their full scope of practice to bolster access to primary healthcare.

"A part (but not the entirety) of the problem, is that WA has fewer GPs per capita than any other State or Territory, except for NSW," Ngeow said.

"The lack of GP availability can result in people either delaying getting the treatment they need or using hospital emergency services as a default, low-cost medical service.

"Either delayed treatment or placing unnecessary pressure on the public health services are not good outcomes.

"We've recently had a month with a record high of more than 7,000 hours of ambulance ramping at our hospitals.

"We need more health hubs, such as can occur in community pharmacies, working to their scope, and this needs to occur sooner, not next year or sometime later than that.

"The system is struggling in 2022 and it will continue to struggle unless real change occurs.

"Professions like mine are restricted in our ability to deliver health care not because we are not capable, or trained, or have a lack of desire but simply due to the regulatory framework we are practicing in.

"And meanwhile, it is the most vulnerable of West Australians who are paying the price.

"In WA community pharmacies did not commence influenza vaccinations until 2015.

"In the last 18 months alone, WA community pharmacies have administered over 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccinations and over 500,000 influenza vaccinations.

"The positive impact that WA community pharmacies have had in keeping their patients safe from vaccine-preventable diseases is undeniable.

"Community pharmacy is an accessible, tertiary-trained workforce with skills and knowledge that are being under-utilised.

"At a time when there is a significant current and predicted workforce shortage, this would not only increase access to treatment for patients, but it would also free up time in GPs' schedules to allow them to treat more complex cases."