NHS Dorset has called on patients to visit their pharmacy if they need over-the-counter medicines (OTCs) rather than seeking a prescription from their GP, in a campaign launched last week (July 8).

As part of the cost-saving and access-enhancing initiative, GPs in the southern county have been asked to stop prescribing medicines for 35 “minor conditions”, it said.

These include coughs and colds, acute sore throat, conjunctivitis, haemorrhoids, head lice and sunburn, according to NHS Dorset’s website.

Read more: Free OTCs for vulnerable Londoners under new pharmacy service

Instead, where suitable, doctors should direct patients to buy an OTC medicine, NHS Dorset said.

A spokesperson for the local commissioner told C+D last week (July 12) that the messaging for the campaign had been developed in consultation with Community Pharmacy Dorset. 

They said that Dorset pharmacies have been issued with information and resources “to support them in providing advice to patients”.

 

£1m savings

 

NHS Dorset’s head of medicines optimisation Peter Cope said that the commissioner hopes to save “an estimated £1 million” by encouraging greater OTC use in the next year.

Cope added that Dorset’s healthcare system faces “enormous pressure” but that the message to doctors to stop prescribing “certain” OTC medicines had come from the national level.

Read more: Expand Pharmacy First to include free OTCs for low incomes, urges HSCC

“We need to be sure we are getting the best value for the money we spend while at the same time exploring every opportunity to improve access to services,” he said.

The spokesperson added that if a GP believes a patient would be put “at risk of not having necessary treatment”, they should issue an FP10 prescription exemption form, per the guidance from the British Medical Association (BMA).

 

OTCs in the news

 

It comes as C+D last week revealed that NHS North East London had launched a service to provide low income and vulnerable residents with free OTCs and advice from community pharmacies.

Community Pharmacy North East London (CP NEL) chief executive Shilpa Shah told C+D that the service will be “so beneficial for residents across north east London” and will give GPs “more confidence” to refer low income patients to community pharmacies.

In May, the health and social care committee (HSCC) recommended that the national government should fund community pharmacies to provide free OTC medicines to people on low incomes in its pharmacy inquiry report.

Read more: UPDATED - 'Get a grip': HSCC calls for rapid change to drug substitution rules

And in July last year, a report commissioned by OTC manufacturer representatives found that the NHS could save £1.7 billion per year through the greater use of existing OTC drugs and a further £1.4bn per year from the reclassification of more prescription-only medications (POMs).

In 2020, then-health minister Lord Bethell announced that there had been a “reduction in spend of £32m” on OTC items since NHS guidance advised GPs to “curb prescribing” of them for certain conditions including headlice, earwax and mouth ulcers in March 2018.