Health minister Baroness Merron last week (January 28) said that the government is “aware” of claims that some GPs are “unwilling” to refer patients to community pharmacies.
“Is…the minister aware of reports that some GPs are unwilling to direct patients to community pharmacists, even under the Pharmacy First programme,” Baroness Winterton of Doncaster asked at a House of Lords debate on community pharmacy closures.
“Will she look at whether further action is needed to ensure that GPs work with community pharmacists to deliver services to patients,” she added.
Read more: MP: GPs need ‘financial incentive’ to engage with Pharmacy First
Baroness Merron replied that she is “aware of the reports” but said that Pharmacy First is “a new service [that] needs to bed in”.
“We are aware of my noble friend’s point - we are acting on it and we will continue to keep it under review,” she added.
Working to “improve referrals”
“NHS England (NHSE) is working closely with integrated care boards (ICBs), GPs and the community pharmacy sector to improve referrals,” Baroness Merron stressed.
And she added that new ICB primary care network (PCN) engagement leads “should be well placed to support GP teams to refer into the [Pharmacy First] service”.
Read more: ICB investigating plunge in Pharmacy First GP referrals
Meanwhile, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff raised questions about giving pharmacists greater powers to amend prescriptions during the debate.
“How is the government planning to allow community pharmacists to adjust medicines – as has been recommended by Community Pharmacist England (CPE) - so that they can modify prescriptions,” she said.
The Baroness stressed that this would enable pharmacists not to “spend time recontacting the GP when they are themselves familiar with the items”.
“Not suitable for purpose”
During the debate, Lord Watts also argued that “the present health structures are not suitable for purpose”.
“Do we not need to look at providing health centres that include a pharmacy...to get the maximum resources to the public,” he asked.
Read more: CCA calls for pharmacy BP check to treble amid GP bid to stop them
Baroness Merron said that he would be “glad to know that bringing services together under one roof...is exactly where this government is going”.
She added that Lord Watts should “keep an eye out for the 10-year plan, which will address many of the points that he is making”.
It comes as MPs last month called for “financial incentives” to be introduced to encourage GPs to “work with pharmacies” and engage with the Pharmacy First service.
Read more: GPs need to ‘feel confident’ about Pharmacy First referrals, says BMA
At the time, Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon Gregory Stafford said that “there are disincentives for general practitioners to embrace Pharmacy First”.
And speaking in the same debate last week, Lord Fowler argued that pharmacists should be used to their “full potential” to make a “bigger” contribution to public health rather than being asked “to rely on the sale of cosmetics”.
