First-of-its-kind pharmacy service in Cornwall will help ease NHS pressure
It follows a successful pilot of Christmas
A new first-of-its-kind pharmacy service is being rolled out across Cornwall following a successful pilot over Christmas.
Until the end of March, all pharmacies across Cornwall are offering face-to-face assessments for a wide range of minor ailments, and NHS treatment as required.
It is the first scheme of its type in England and bosses say it will help relieve system pressures on our health service.
The NHS is under unprecedented demand due the ongoing Covid pandemic and will come under more pressure as we move into what is historically its busiest season through winter.
The roll out of the service follows a pilot over the festive period where over 90% of people that used it had their symptoms successfully treated on site.
Patients can visit the pharmacy without an appointment or referral for a consultation with the pharmacist that takes place in a consultation room and receive NHS treatment if appropriate. A record of the service will be electronically sent to the patient’s GP for completeness.
Community pharmacy is a key NHS provider and throughout the pandemic has continued to deliver face to face advice and treatment for minor ailments as well as delivering record numbers of flu vaccinations whilst maintaining the business-as-usual operation of the safe supply of medication.
Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay said: “I am delighted to see Cornwall trail-blazing yet again with this rollout out of new NHS services available via community pharmacies. As former Chair of the All- Party Parliamentary Group for Pharmacy, I am well aware of the crucial work our pharmacies do for our communities, and this has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage residents across Cornwall to take advantage of these new services and help relieve pressure on our NHS during this busy time.”
Nick Kaye interim CEO of Cornwall & IoS Local Pharmaceutical Partnership, said: “We are delighted that community pharmacies in Cornwall are being viewed as part of the solution to the NHS pressures in primary care and that pharmacists’ clinical skills are being utilised to help the population of Cornwall & IoS access convenient healthcare that is linked back to the GP practice. It’s timely and convenient for patients. We hope this first of a kind service offer in England will be a great success and could be a model that others follow in the future.”