Madame
We are all aware of the financial Armageddon that has hit the public finances. The budget along with many other announcements has spelt out that the NHS, which has enjoyed significant, above inflation growth for many years now will be subject to almost zero growth.
This has caused gloom amongst many who derive their income from the public purse not least of whom would be community pharmacists.
However treating patients in secondary care has for some decades been demonstrated as significantly more expensive than primary care. GPs surgeries are choked up with patients needing minor ailments and long term conditions which means patients needlessly being referred into secondary care.
The pharmacy White Paper is a year old and it spells out a number of opportunities to government (who published the document) to offer high quality care to patients close to their homes or places of work thereby improving access and choice to patients. The burden on GPs would be lifted and secondary care would be reserved for the complex cases that it exists for.
Sue Sharpe was recently quoted as saying that there has been very little movement from government to implement the White Paper.
Why?
I know no-one from DOH is reading this but I am know their minnions are, so as a tax payer I demand to know why the government is not, in the interests of tax payers pulling out all the stops to improve patients access and choice to primary care facilities and reduce the cost to the NHS simultaneously. Implementing the white paper proposals could well make the name of the official that grasps the opportunity.
Does anyone recognise that?
