Pharmacy Daily | Full scope commitment

EFFORTS to extend pharmacists' scope of practice have the firm support of pharmacist-turned-politician, Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride.

Addressing delegates at Pharmacy Connect in Sydney on Sat, McBride said she was committed to supporting the profession's call for pharmacists to be authorised to work to their full scope of practice.

"In my new role as Assistant Minister, I am determined to raise the profile and prominence of pharmacists, and to see us work to our full scope," she said.

"This is important because people should be able to access care when they need it.

"You shouldn't have a mum come in trying to get a Ventolin through a pandemic, who can't get one for their child who is short of breath and desperately worried about.

"You shouldn't have to worry about medicines shortage or outages, because you can rely on your local pharmacist, you can trust in the advice they provide you, and you can know with confidence that they will be there even when other services are closed.

"Highly trained healthcare practitioners - like every one of you in this room - should be working in close collaboration in integrated models of care, should be fully utilised."

McBride said that health workers across the country have been pushed to their limits during the COVID-19 pandemic, with services in rural and remote areas "in crisis".

"I've heard people talk about it being broken - we're seeing patients waiting weeks for routine appointments, or spending hours waiting to be seen in Emergency Departments," she said.

"Our healthcare workers are exhausted.

"They're burnt out, they're dedicated and they're capable, but they've been overwhelmed.

"Unfortunately, as you know, there's no quick fix, but there are steps that we can take, working together to improve health care for all Australians, including supporting healthcare professionals working to the top of their scope of practice.

"It just makes sense."