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Negotiations on minor ailments service for England

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Negotiations on minor ailments service for England

PSNC has announced that it is in formal discussion with NHS Employers about a national community pharmacy minor ailments service.

A statement said ‘PSNC has long believed that a national minor ailments service would benefit patients, pharmacies and the NHS by giving patients access to advice and treatments for minor conditions without the need for them to visit their GP or another urgent care service. This has been a key PSNC policy and we have been making the case for it for some time, so these discussions will come as no surprise.’

A new service, involving the provision of evidence-based advice and support alongside the supply of appropriate medication, could help lessen the load on GP practices, says PSNC. ‘PSNC believes that to bring most benefit, a minor ailments service should encourage patients to use it as an alternative to a GP consultation for minor conditions, as well as promoting self-care.’

Suitable IT systems and processes would need to be developed, and will be part of the negotiations. ‘Such a service would require high quality data capture to ensure clinical records are adequate and that the impact of the service can be assessed, so it is vital that the costs of this are fully recognised and accounted for,’ said the statement.

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