Pharmacies ‘should be relied upon to treat common ailments’

A new study from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has highlighted the significant savings the NHS could make by relying on pharmacies to manage common ailments.

According to the research, coughs and sore throats cost the NHS an extra 1.1 billion pounds a year when patients are treated by emergency departments or GP surgeries, rather than by community pharmacies.

This is despite each of these services being equally effective in the treatment of such conditions, with patients receiving faster service when dealing with pharmacies. It is estimated that three percent of all A&E consultations and 5.5 percent of GP consultations for common problems could be managed in community pharmacies.

Common ailments schemes provide public access to NHS treatment and advice for specific minor health complaints at a local pharmacy. Greater use of such services could save the NHS money, while freeing up time for doctors.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Ash Soni said: "The NHS can't afford to wait any longer to create capacity in the system. We need to be more strategic and change the services on offer to the public to make best use of the NHS workforce."

This comes at a time when the NHS as a whole is experiencing limited resources and many frontline services are oversubscribed, leading to growing calls for the pharmacy sector to be handed a larger role.