NEWS NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
HoSPItal to BRIdgE clINIcal gaP
More hospital pharmacists are needed to bridge the clinical pharmacy gap, says the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland. They were speaking after being invited to give evidence to the Health & Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament on seven day working. Prior to this the RPS published its submission to the Health & Sport Committee ahead of its session due to take place on 17 March 2015.
The RPS submission highlights that there is a clinical gap in pharmacy input at weekends which cannot be managed within current resources and staffing levels. Furthermore they suggest that any strategy for seven day working should be patient based, focusing on providing pharmaceutical care to improve patient outcomes and the patient experience, with pharmacists integrated into the multidisciplinary weekend teams and community pharmacies included in discharge arrangements.
They reinforced that: • Workforce planning is required to better understand capacity needs and to resource new services adequately.
• Business plans should include a review of current practice and skill mix and pharmacy management must be included in any strategic planning.
• Local situations will require local solutions and consideration needs to be given to consulting the current workforce to manage change successfully with new staff employed on seven day contracts.
Policy and Practice Lead, Aileen Bryson MRPharmS, said, “The RPS welcomes this Health & Sport Committee session on seven day working and is particularly pleased that pharmacists have been invited to provide a direct input to this session. We have had input from across our membership, including hospital and community pharmacy, highlighting key areas that need to be considered in order to enable the delivery of high-quality pharmaceutical care in accordance with patient needs.”
8 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
People in Scotland are continuing to benefit from not having to pay for prescriptions, while charges are set to rise again in England.
Prescription charges were abolished in Scotland in 2011. Before this, it was estimated that around two thirds of paid-for prescriptions related to long term conditions.
When prescriptions rise in England on April 1, every non-exempt patient in Scotland would be saving £8.20 per item, when compared to patients in England.
This would mean, that someone living with a long-term condition, who needs at least ten prescriptions a year, will be saving £82.
Many other patients, including cancer patients, will save £104 a year because they no longer have to buy a 12 month prescription pre-payment certificate.
There are around two million people in Scotland living with long-term medical conditions. A number of those would
have qualified for free prescriptions, however, people with conditions such as Coeliac Disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Cystic Fibrosis, as well as asthma may not.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Free prescriptions in Scotland mean that no one is forced to decide which prescribed medicine they can afford and which they will have to go without.
“This is the right thing to do, and unlike in England means that those living with a long term condition are not facing the on-going financial penalty of prescription charges just because they are unwell.
“It remains our firm belief that healthcare should be free at the point of need – the founding principle of the NHS. Free prescriptions are consistent with our ambitions for a socially just society for the people of Scotland, and we remain committed to this policy.”
Free prescriptions to remain, says Health Secretary
“Prescribers are continuing to prescribe as clinically and cost effectively as possible, ensuring that the benefits of free prescriptions are felt by people who truly need them, particularly those with long term conditions.”
The news comes despite survey results from the start of this year showing almost half of Scots would back a return of prescription charges to tackle funding shortfalls in the NHS.
The survey of 1,737 Scots was funded by the former Tory treasurer Lord Ashcroft, and found that concerns remain over the policy, which was introduced by the SNP in 2011 and is estimated to cost £57 million a year.
Critics have said that the money would be better spent on nurses or medicines which are currently unavailable because of cost.
The survey found that 46% of people north of the Border backed looking again at charges, including two-thirds of Conservative voters and a third of those who intend to back the SNP in May’s general election.
Although 54% of Scots replied that the option should not be considered, it garnered far more support than cutting health staff wages or reducing the range of services offered by the NHS.
Among the other options, 44% of Scots said ministers should consider introducing charges for some treatments, 79% the introduction of fines for missed GP appointments and 77% larger cuts in other government spending.
National conference on PfE
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland has teamed up with NHS Education for Scotland in delivering a National Conference on Prescription for Excellence in Edinburgh on Tuesday 26 May 2015.
The purpose of the conference is to assist with the communication of Prescription for Excellence and aims to:
• Identify Prescription for Excellence developments occurring in Scottish Health Boards.
• Facilitate cross fertilisation of developments across Scotland.
Poster abstracts are invited and can be submitted by completing the poster abstract application form by visiting:
www.rpharms.com
To register* your interest in attending this event please email
events@nes.scot.nhs.uk
The second national event is the RPS Scottish National Seminar at Stirling Management Centre, which has been moved from the originally announced dates in early June to 22-23 August 2015 to ensure that both events attract as many pharmacists across the country as possible. The working title for the seminar is
“Pharmacy Working Together to Achieve Quality in Practice”. The programme for the two days is currently being finalised and further information will be made available to members and wider in due course.
To register* your interest in attending the RPS Scottish National Seminar, which is free to RPS members based in Scotland, please email:
scotinfo@rpharms.com
*Please note that this does not secure your place and you will be required to register at a later date. Registration details will follow in due course.
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