Forth Valley Sunday pharmacy opening pilot to be extended
A six-week pilot to see if opening local pharmacies on a Sunday would take the pressure off other NHS services is to be extended after a successful trial.
NHS Forth Valley introduced the Community Pharmacy Sunday winter pilot to improve community pharmacy services and reduce pressure on Out of Hours (OOH) and Emergency Department (ED) services.
The first phase of the pilot ran for six weeks last winter and involved two community pharmacies offering extended Sunday services.
Members of NHS Forth Valley Health Board heard that over the six-week trial, 222 patients used the service, with 41 per cent of them seeking advice about upper respiratory tract infections and chest infections as well as cough, cold and flu symptoms.
The report notes that 78 per cent of those seeking advice required treatment under Pharmacy First Plus – which allows experienced pharmacists across Forth Valley to write prescriptions, including antibiotics where necessary, for ailments including chest infections, sore ears, sore throats and sinusitis.
The report showed a small decrease in people attending Out of Hours, compared to the previous year, despite higher flu and respiratory virus levels at the time.
The figures suggest that, without the service, 173 people would have sought help from Out of Hours services.
As part of the pilot, 100 patients were asked how satisfied they were, with 99 saying they were completely satisfied and their condition had been fully managed by the pharmacist.
When asked what action they would have taken if the pharmacy had not been open: 48 would have contacted NHS 111 and eight would have gone to A&E.
Members of the board heard that the success of the pilot means that Phase 2 will now see more pharmacies being involved in a new pilot this winter, beginning on December 14.
NHS Forth Valley will also continue to promote its Pharmacy First and Pharmacy First Plus service, with the aim of the community pharmacies becoming the “front door” to NHS services.
Phase two of the pilot will run for nine weeks, until February 8.
The second phase of the pilot will cost £51,000, which will be funded by the Community Pharmacy Development Budget.
A full list of pharmacies that are open on Sundays and over the festive period is on NHS Forth Valley’s website.