The Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland Branch has presented evidence to the Queensland Parliament’s inquiry into the provision of primary, allied and private healthcare, aged care and NDIS care services and its impact on the Queensland public health system.
Queensland Branch President Chris Owen said in his opening statement that there were 1,215 community pharmacies in Queensland with 234 of those located in rural towns, and remote and very remote communities as defined by the Modified Monash Model1.
“On average, every person visits a community pharmacy 18 times each year, in metropolitan, rural and remote locations. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) community pharmacies are the most frequently accessed and most accessible primary health care destination,” he said.
“This committee has heard repeatedly at these proceedings that hospitals and emergency departments are stretched and that some of the demand is often for conditions that could have been prevented or better managed within a local primary healthcare setting.”
Mr Owen went on to say that as primary healthcare professionals there was a duty to patients and the care given to them.
“We come today, not to ask for more money, not to take cheap shots at other professions, not to engage in some ancient turf war or seek to run down the ethics and policy suggestions of other peak bodies,” he said.
“We come with a solution; a solution that is not a world first, a solution which operates in countries like the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and in part, in New Zealand, a solution that’s proven to work.
“We believe that all primary healthcare practitioners should be practising to their full scope.
“To this end, community pharmacists supported the creation of Nurse Practitioners and have actively supported other allied and primary healthcare professions to practise to full scope. Full scope is indeed not a new concept – it’s been around for decades.
“The primary healthcare workforce is much more than one profession and all health practitioners working to their full scope of practice can help to alleviate patient access issues to world class healthcare.
“When all primary healthcare practitioners are practising to their full scope - we’ll collectively be able to better tackle the incidence and management of chronic diseases, reduce preventable hospitalisations, reduce non-urgent ED presentations and ultimately deliver better health outcomes for our fellow Queenslanders.”
Mr Owen said a pilot of community pharmacists practising to their full scope in North Queensland was an important step.
“The Guild, alongside many others … are part of a Steering Reference Group for the pilot in North Queensland.
“The Guild believes the professional training, skill and knowledge of community pharmacists should be acknowledged.
“Pharmacists have the competency and professional accountability to prescribe, dispense, administer and review medicines. Community pharmacists in Australia are being underutilised, primarily due to legislative barriers and preference - currently our scope of practice is limited.
“By allowing community pharmacists to work to full scope with additional university supervised training, we can support our fellow primary healthcare practitioners to continue to do the important work they do.”
He went on to stress: “There always has and most likely always will be some objections to change. We are focussed solely on enhancing patient outcomes. A safe and healthy Queenslander is in all our interests.”
