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PATIENTS TO BE REFERRED TO PHARMACISTS FOR MINOR


CONDITIONS PATIENTS in England are to be offered same-day pharmacy appointments for minor conditions in order to ease pressure on the wider NHS. The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that the new NHS


Community Pharmacist Consultation Service will offer local pharmacy appointments to anyone calling NHS 111 about minor conditions, such as earache or a sore throat. GPs and A&E could start to refer patients to the service over the next five years if testing is successful. Patients will still have the option


to see their GP or attend A&E, but it is estimated that up to six per cent of all GP consultations could be safely transferred to a community pharmacy, which is the equivalent of 20 million appointments per year. Pharmacists receive five years


of training which provides expert knowledge of medicines and drug interactions, and the NHS says it wants to make better use of these skills. The new service is one of a number of initiatives announced as part of the new five-year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, which took effect in October. The framework focuses on


prevention, urgent care and medicines safety to help more


people stay well in their community. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Pharmacists are integral to


community health and I want to move towards the French model, where they offer a wider range of services and play a stronger role in the community.” RCGP chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard commented: “Whilst this new scheme


is welcome… pharmacists – or any other primary care professional – must not be seen as substitutes for GPs.” She called on the government to continue its push to recruit and retain more family doctors.


CLARITY FOR GPs ON


FIREARMS LICENSING GPs will not be held legally responsible for judging whether someone is suitable to possess a firearm or shotgun certificate, according to proposed new government guidance. The Home Office has launched a consultation on


statutory guidance which makes clear that legal responsibility rests “solely with the police”. Under the guidelines, police in England, Scotland


and Wales will be required to check the medical records of every person applying for a firearms licence. The move comes in response to findings by the independent police inspectorate, HMICFRS, that licensing practice across the country was inconsistent and that medical information was not being shared for firearms applications, creating a potential safety risk. The Home Office has signed an agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA) that aims to improve cooperation between the police and GPs. GPs are asked to provide information about whether


firearms applicants have a history of relevant mental or physical conditions which could affect their safe possession of guns. They are also asked to put a firearms flag on patient records so that police can be alerted if a person develops a relevant medical condition after their licence has been issued. The Home Office has worked with the medical


GP ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING


REDUCED AND MORE SELECTIVE ANTIBIOTIC prescribing by general medical practices in England has reduced and become more selective in recent years, according to a study published on BMJ Open. Researchers at King’s College London analysed antibiotic prescribing at 102 general practices in England that contributed data to the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) from 2014 to 2017. They found that total antibiotic


prescribing declined from 608 prescriptions per 1,000 person-years in 2014 to 489 per 1,000 person-years in 2017. Broad-spectrum ß-lactam


antibiotic prescribing decreased from 221 per 1,000 person-years in 2014 to 163 in 2017.


The decline was similar for men and


women but less for patients over the age of 55. Antibiotic prescribing for patients with respiratory infections declined by 9.8 per cent per year and 5.7 per cent for genitourinary infections. The authors concluded: “Antibiotic


prescribing has reduced and become more selective but substantial unnecessary AB use may persist. Improving the quality of diagnostic coding for AB use will help to support antimicrobial stewardship efforts.”


profession to encourage doctors’ use of the firearms flagging system and is looking at ways to widen the use of flags through a national IT system. Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd


said he was confident the proposals would tighten up the system without creating “unreasonable demands”. But the new guidance was described as


“disappointing” by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, who fear gun owners could be left with a £48 million bill for medical reports. Bill Harriman, Director of Firearms at BASC, said:


“The new proposals place no obligation on doctors and leave them to take part or not, to levy unreasonable charges or not, as they wish. There is absolutely no guidance in the consultation on a reasonable charging regime.”


He called for a statutory obligation on doctors to


participate in the licensing process “in the interests of public safety”. Currently, GPs are not contracted to complete


firearms reports and have the right to charge a fee or to refuse to provide the service altogether. Refusal can be on the grounds of conscientious objection or because it falls outside their medical expertise.


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