AS THE state faces a shortage of GPs, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia is calling on the New South Wales Government to further extend pharmacists' ability to offer primary healthcare.
The call from the peak pharmacy body comes after the state's Minister for Health, Ryan Park, told media last week that NSW would face a shortfall of 1,000 GPs by 2028 (PD 08 Aug).
Speaking to Pharmacy Daily, the Guild's NSW branch President David Heffernan said, "we heard for years now that waiting times for appointments are getting longer and hospital wait times aren't acceptable".
"The GP shortage in the future, just adds more load on the system.
"We are saying that simple measures, not just for pharmacists, but for all other health professions, will enable us to practice to the full scope that we are trained to do."
He commented, "it all has to do with the legislation, where government should look at the proposals, determine the safety aspect, change legislation on the regulations, and then get out of the way, and let us pursue our work".
The Guild is urging the NSW govt to authorise pharmacists to treat more health conditions, as seen in North Queensland.
"This would enable trained pharmacists to manage acute issues like nausea and chronic conditions like asthma and cardiovascular risk," Heffernan explained.
Research suggests these changes could save the NSW economy $1.7bn and free up over 1.7m GP consultations per year. JG
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