Did you know that having a Clinical Pharmacist within a GP Practice can drastically reduce GP workload?
At Clinical Rx®, we have a dedicated team of highly trained Pharmacists who can help to reduce waiting times and also improve clinical effectiveness.
Many GP practices have already embraced pharmacists working in patient-facing roles. It is a known fact that there is a workload crisis in UK general practice, possibly due to population growth and the increased number of older people with more complex conditions.
NHS England has put measures in place to support general practice in the UK, ultimately giving patients better access to care. Over £100 million was said to be used to support more Clinical Pharmacists working in general practice, by 2020/2021. This is in addition to the £15m scheme to fund, recruit and employ clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries, as part of an initial pilot launched in July 2015.
By 2015, there were already over 490 Clinical Pharmacists working in over 600 GP practices. There are many benefits to having Clinical Pharmacists in GP Practices, some of these include; additional support to manage long-term conditions and tailored advice for patients with multiple medications. In addition to Pharmacists, more nurses and physician associates are being deployed to general practice, to form part of the wider team.
Pharmacists are clinical experts who already undertake a wide range of roles, from advising patients on how to take medication and managing repeat prescriptions and carrying out medication reviews.
This would free up GPs’ time to focus on patients with more complex needs and improve access to primary care for those who need it most. Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, highlighted this fact by saying that “GPs are struggling to cope with unprecedented workloads….”
The NHS must make full use of the skills and expertise of pharmacists to ensure that patients get the care they need in a timely and effective manner.
It is important to note that Pharmacists are not ‘mini-GPs’, nor do they aim to replace GPs but instead will work closely with us as part of the practice team to resolve day-to-day medication issues, reducing prescribing errors, as well as advising patients and staff about medication.
It is no secret that there is a shortage of GPs, which is causing somewhat of a crisis in general practice. According to Health Education England, more GPs are being trained – which is amazing! However, as we progress more and more into the future, we must be forward-thinking about how we use different healthcare professionals and their skills to improve patient care.
At Clinical Rx®, we believe in the continuous training of Pharmacists. We have a support system of Senior Clinical Pharmacists, who are dedicated to ongoing support of Pharmacists that are new to the world of GP Practice.
We believe that ‘new’ does not mean incapable, but instead, we are dedicated to seeing all our pharmacists upskill and become experts in general practice. If you want to learn more about how we can reduce the workload at your GP practice, please fill out our Contact Us form.
