Cornwall pharmacies to help ease demand on NHS

Hendra's Pharmacy in Penryn is one of the pharmacies taking part in the service

Pharmacies in Cornwall are offering face-to-face assessments without appointment in a bid to ease pressures on the wider healthcare system.

The measure, during a "difficult time", is designed to treat a wide range of minor ailments and common illnesses.

After being seen in a consultation room, patients are still directed to NHS treatment if appropriate.

It follows a trial over Christmas where more than 90% of users had symptoms treated on site, health bosses said.

The service is set to run from 6 January until the end of March, with records of the consultations sent electronically to each patient's GP.

Drew Creek said the winter trial of the scheme relieved GPs and A&E departments

Drew Creek, operations manager for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) said "it's relieving pressures at this difficult time".

"So far through the trial we've found approximately 85% of the people who presented to us would have gone to see GPs and 15% would have gone to A&E," he said.

The service aims to serve 10,000 patients during its course.

Georgina Praed said it is a service to "complement" the health system

Georgina Praed, head of medicines optimisation and prescribing at NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group, said it should be seen as a service to complement the health system.

She said: "It's not an 'instead of' it's an 'as well as' - it's to complement, to support; it really does support GPs to see patients with more complex issues."

The service is said to be the first of its kind in England and has assisted 180 patients so far.

Nick Kaye is a pharmacist at Hendra's Pharmacy in Penryn, Cornwall

Nick Kaye, a pharmacist and interim CEO of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LPC, said: "Community pharmacy has always been a trusted place where people could come and see a healthcare professional, we deliver vaccines and other services within the community pharmacy, but this consultation service really formalises this service.

"For us in community pharmacy it's just adding further resilience to the wider healthcare team, pharmacists have got clinical skills that we can use to ease pressure from colleagues in the healthcare system".