EXPANDING pharmacists' scope of practice will alleviate the mounting pressure GPs are experiencing without impacting patient care, Pharmacy Guild of Australia Northern Territory Branch President, Peter Hatswell, believes.
Speaking on Mix 104.9, Hatswell said there was "every chance" that the Northern Territory Government would follow Queensland and NSW in authorising pharmacist prescribing for minor ailments and urinary tract infections (PD 14 Nov).
"The more states that come on board [with similar programs] the more likely that the NT will see it's working and it's proven," he said.
"The NT, Darwin and everywhere around have just as big a problem with getting to see a GP [as elsewhere in the country], and people are suffering as a result.
"They're ending up in Emergency and overwhelming the system."
Hatswell noted that GPs have repeatedly reported that they are overwhelmed with their current workload.
"Some [GPs] haven't had a day off in weeks and that's no way to work, and certainly that would lead to the potential of missing things or making mistakes, and we certainly don't want that to happen," he said.
"Everyone needs to have a good and safe working environment and not being overworked is part of that."
"Doctors have a very important role in the healthcare of everybody in this nation, and this is going to help them to focus on what they're best at and take away the sort of nitty-gritty common stuff that can be handled by pharmacists quite safely and without any real problems."
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