RURAL health a priority: The Pharmacy Guild has urged the National Rural Health Commissioner to consider priority areas relating to health services in rural areas.
Responding to the discussion paper on Rural Allied Health Quality, Access and Distribution, the Guild stressed that workforce issues being experienced by all health professionals working in rural and remote Australia need to be addressed, not just the medical and nursing professions which have long been the focus.
"There are approximately 307 towns in PhARIA 4-6 (moderately accessible, remote, very remote) that have only one pharmacy, and in many cases, the pharmacist is the only health professional in the town, the Guild said.
It demonstrates that if rural and remote community pharmacies cannot recruit or retain staff, many Australians will no longer have access to medicines and primary care services.
The response also advocates pharmacists being allowed to work to their full scope of practice to fill service gaps in rural and remote areas.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 27 Aug 19
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