Pharmacy Daily | Victoria must fully use pharmacists

VICTORIA'S new Health Minister, Martin Foley, is being urged to recruit a Chief Pharmacist to ensure the State fully engages with the profession and ensures practitioners work to their full scope.

Welcoming the appointment of the former Minister for Mental Health, Pharmacy Guild of Australia Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, stressed the need for a shake-up in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), to optimise the use of pharmacists' training and expertise.

"It is imperative that the Victorian Government fully utilise the skills and competencies of pharmacists including the expansion of our scope of vaccines to align with what we have been asked to be trained to know by the Victorian DHHS -- including travel vaccines," he said

"Given his experience with the Mental Health services portfolio -- we must also see a properly funded and resourced opioid replacement therapy program across the state to help improve and ensure access for patients.

"From what we have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dire need for the Victorian health bureaucracy to have a Chief Pharmacist to help provide leadership and guidance to the Government on pharmacy related services as well as better engage with our profession.

"This is the case in other state health departments and it will be a matter we will be taking up with Minister Foley at the earliest opportunity."

Foley was appointed as Health Minister on Sat following Jenny Mikakos's resignation in the wake of Premier Daniel Andrews's appearance at the State's hotel quarantine inquiry, during which he said that he regarded Mikakos as being "accountable for the program".

In a statement announcing her resignation Mikakos defended her integrity and praised the State's frontline health workforce.

"I have been in awe of our health professionals saving lives every day, and I can never express my admiration of them enough," she said.

Despite voicing frustrations over number of issues during the COVID crisis, Tassone thanked Mikakos for her efforts in expanding the State's pharmacists immunisation program and the adoption and implementation of SafeScript.

Pictured, Anthony Tassone, Pauline Richards MP and Minister for Health Martin Foley.