PLEAS to authorise Canberra-based pharmacists to do more for their communities have fallen on deaf ears, with the ACT Government's 2022/23 Budget failing to invest in the profession, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) believes.
PSA ACT Branch President, Olivia Collenette, said Chief Minister and Treasurer, Andrew Barr, has abandoned pharmacists who kept the community safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the Budget as a "missed opportunity".
"The ACT Budget has yet again ignored the opportunity to invest in our health system and improve the accessibility of health care to Canberrans," she said.
"Throughout the pandemic, pharmacists remained the most accessible health care professional in our communities, remaining open while others closed their doors and have shown their dedication to the wellbeing of Canberrans.
"PSA's 2022-23 Budget Submission urged the ACT Government to improve patient access by increasing the range of vaccinations provided by pharmacists.
"This simple regulatory change that could save the lives of Canberrans has been overlooked despite the clear benefits to the community.
"The ACT has the most stringent restrictions in the country when it comes to which vaccinations pharmacists can administer, despite pharmacists having been on the frontline of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout throughout the pandemic.
"Investment in pharmacists will improve the care Canberrans receive from the wider health system and has the potential to reduce the increasing number of Canberrans presenting to emergency departments with minor ailments as well as assisting with current workloads and wait times being experienced by GP clinics.
"We urge the ACT Government to reconsider its needless restrictions and give Canberra's pharmacists the tools to provide world class care to our communities."
Meanwhile the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) welcomed the ACT Government's additional $29.8 million investment to deliver more elective surgeries.
However SHPA CEO Kristin Michaels said "it is essential that commensurate funding for surgical and perioperative pharmacists is provided under the announcement".
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