Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Pharmacy Guild NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says allowing pharmacists to do more would ease pressure on emergency departments and reduce wait times to see GPs

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Pharmacy Guild NT Branch President Peter Hatswell says allowing pharmacists to do more would ease pressure on emergency departments and reduce wait times to see GPs · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But we know that new research has found that ossies
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  Speaker 1: overwhelmingly support pharmacists being able to provide more professional health services. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this research has been conducted by independent firm Insightfully, and
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  Speaker 1: it found that pharmacists were trusted by Australians to provide
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  Speaker 1: health advice for common, non complex conditions and seventy seven
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  Speaker 1: percent of people said that they trusted their pharmacists for
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  Speaker 1: this type of health advice. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line to tell us a little bit more about this
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  Speaker 1: is Pharmacy Guild NT Branch President Peter hats Well. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Peter.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: How are you? Yeah, really well, thanks so much for
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning, Peter. Now, what else did this
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  Speaker 1: research find?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the research found that basically eighty percent of people
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  Speaker 2: are very comfortable in having a conversation with their pharmacists
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  Speaker 2: about their medical conditions and seventy seven percent said they
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  Speaker 2: trusted their pharmacists for their for their for their care.
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  Speaker 1: And it's pretty common, isn't it. Like you know, whenever
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  Speaker 1: I go to the to the pharmacy or to the chemist,
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  Speaker 1: you sort of always see people having conversations with the
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  Speaker 1: pharmacist about their you know, about their groups, about their medicine,
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  Speaker 1: about a condition that they might have. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: I know myself even I've sought advice from the pharmacist before.
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  Speaker 2: Well, and that's that's the beauty of pharmacists. I guess
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  Speaker 2: they're they're they're accessible there, they open a lot longer hours,
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  Speaker 2: you know these days, as most pharmacies are open the weekend,
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  Speaker 2: some are open even late at night, and they're always
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  Speaker 2: there for you so that they will come out and
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  Speaker 2: have a chat for whatever you need.
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  Speaker 1: And what kind of extra scope are you advocating for
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  Speaker 1: pharmacists to have.
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  Speaker 2: Well, there's I think there's a desperate need. I think
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  Speaker 2: that we do bring pharmacists up to their full scope
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  Speaker 2: of practice, and that that would involve being able to prescribe, diagnose,
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  Speaker 2: the prescribe under strict guidelines, but basically for a whole
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  Speaker 2: range of common and chronic conditions.
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  Speaker 1: And do you reckon that this would help a meid
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  Speaker 1: these GP fees that we've seen going up and the
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  Speaker 1: long waits that we see to see a doctor.
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  Speaker 2: Well, pharmacists have been doing this in other countries, in
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  Speaker 2: Canada and the UK and various other birthword countries for
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  Speaker 2: quite a while where basically we're helping the medical system
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  Speaker 2: and gps are a hugely valuable resource and they're really
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  Speaker 2: working so hard, they're so they just don't have enough
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  Speaker 2: time to see everyone. And it is taking a lot
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  Speaker 2: longer these days to get in to see a GP.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, why aren't we use lighting our pharmacists
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  Speaker 2: people to do what they've really been trained to do.
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  Speaker 1: And here in the territory, are you sort of facing
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  Speaker 1: any shortages when it comes to pharmacists or are most
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  Speaker 1: of those positions pretty well filled?
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  Speaker 2: No, there is a Shortage's no doubt that we're suffering
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  Speaker 2: from acute manpower issues as well. But you know where
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  Speaker 2: we have got, all the shops are being dealt with,
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  Speaker 2: and you know there is that we do have the capacity,
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  Speaker 2: I guess, to be able to step up. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: as as time goes on, more more pharmacists will come
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  Speaker 2: to this country and join the join the ranks and
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  Speaker 2: be able to partake in helping out with the needs
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  Speaker 2: of our patients.
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  Speaker 1: And Peter, do you reckon that if we did see,
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  Speaker 1: you know, a greater push for our pharmacists to be
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  Speaker 1: able to do more, do you think that it would
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  Speaker 1: ease pressure on emergency departments and GP services.
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  Speaker 2: It has to sorry, that's right. The pharmacists can deal
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  Speaker 2: with a lot of the common infections. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: they say that one in four I think Australians ended
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  Speaker 2: up in emergency when they couldn't get to see their GP.
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  Speaker 2: So I mean that that's that's a lot of people,
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  Speaker 2: and it's you know that you know, if pharmacists can
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  Speaker 2: cankin of get to that scope of practice and then
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  Speaker 2: that's going to help and it's certainly going to help
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  Speaker 2: with the problem we're trying to get to see the
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  Speaker 2: GP as well.
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  Speaker 1: Now I understand, I mean I guess as well. In
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  Speaker 1: addition to that, on the flip side, I imagine that
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  Speaker 1: there would be concerns that pharmacists are not trained to
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  Speaker 1: the same level as doctors and perhaps shouldn't have that
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  Speaker 1: extra scope. I mean, what would you say to people
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  Speaker 1: listening who have those concerns.
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  Speaker 2: Wells, doctors, they've got a very important role with the
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  Speaker 2: diagnosis and treatment of complex conditions. We're not talking about
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  Speaker 2: the whole range of things that doctors do, and they're
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  Speaker 2: very very important part of our healthcare system. It's about
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  Speaker 2: dealing with the things that pharmacists are trained or can
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  Speaker 2: be trained to do. Now, all the farmacists that are
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  Speaker 2: coming out of university and they're doing five years in UNI,
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  Speaker 2: they do get those They are trained with the skills
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  Speaker 2: of being able to diagnose and treat basic like I said,
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  Speaker 2: simple acute conditions like a urinary tract infection. So instead
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  Speaker 2: of going to your pharmacy and getting cranby juice or
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  Speaker 2: a urinary alkalinizer, they can actually get antibiotics. And this
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  Speaker 2: is what we're advocating for, and the many other things
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  Speaker 2: that are simple. And if you know, the prescription the
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  Speaker 2: work at the pharmacist is would be is has a
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  Speaker 2: strict guideline. It's constructured prescribing. So if there's any red
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  Speaker 2: flags that come up during that process, is something that
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  Speaker 2: doesn't look right, then they will refer them straight on
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  Speaker 2: to where they you know, where they will get better
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  Speaker 2: treatment for that what is obviously a more complex condition,
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  Speaker 2: but most of the time it is when it's a
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  Speaker 2: simple problem, then it's a simple answer and just work
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  Speaker 2: in the same way.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and so often I suppose as well, you know,
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  Speaker 1: for territory insight, the example that you gave there, you know,
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  Speaker 1: and retract infection if you're then having to go to
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  Speaker 1: the GP, and you know, to get that extra appointment
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  Speaker 1: as well. It's costly for people. It's not only costly,
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  Speaker 1: but it's it can be difficult to get in to
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  Speaker 1: see a GP. And if there is a situation where
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  Speaker 1: it's something that a pharmacist is able to help with,
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  Speaker 1: it sort of seems like a common sense.
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  Speaker 2: Approach absolutely a lot of people. I mean these sorts
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  Speaker 2: of things, and you don't go according to office hours.
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  Speaker 2: So if you've got a year and retract infection and
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  Speaker 2: you're in pain or and discomfort or whatever, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: it just happens to be in the evening or perhaps
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  Speaker 2: you know the start of the weekend and gps are unavailable.
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  Speaker 2: Even if they're booked out and you can't get in,
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  Speaker 2: you will almost always end up in A and E
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  Speaker 2: and then you've got many hours of wait or we're
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  Speaker 2: still the person could go without treatment thinking, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I can't get in for a week or whatever it
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  Speaker 2: might be, and then go without treatment and then could
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  Speaker 2: end up with something far more serious that could have
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  Speaker 2: been so easily treated with a short course of antibiotics.
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  Speaker 2: Now it is really necessary to be in a hospital,
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  Speaker 2: and that's just no good for the healthcare system.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a really good point that that
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  Speaker 1: is being made, and we do know as well that
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  Speaker 1: it is World Pharmacists Stay today a time to celebrate.
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  Speaker 1: I guess everything that our pharmacists have done and continue
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  Speaker 1: to do each and every day for patients right across Australia.
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  Speaker 1: He sure have we got a lot of pharmacists in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Look, there's you know, the Northern Territory doesn't have the
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  Speaker 2: population basis say in New South Wales or whatever. So
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  Speaker 2: we've certainly got the right number of pharmacists for the
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  Speaker 2: population we have, and we've certainly got very very spread
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  Speaker 2: out population. So there's there are pharmacies in you know,
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  Speaker 2: a lot of the sort of more regional areas. You've
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  Speaker 2: got Catherine and Tenor Creek and Alice Springs. So yeah,
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  Speaker 2: there's there's not as many, but we have we have
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  Speaker 2: enough to fill the jobs that we need. I think
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  Speaker 2: the worst thing is is that a lot of the
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  Speaker 2: pharmacists are really doing it hard. They've certainly done it
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  Speaker 2: hard during COVID with having to stay open. I mean
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  Speaker 2: they were an essential service, they were they then you know,
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  Speaker 2: we should all thank our pharmacists for being there for
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  Speaker 2: us during such a hard time, putting their own lives
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  Speaker 2: at risk being seeing it was.
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  Speaker 1: A good example. It was a good example as well
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  Speaker 1: though of you know, our pharmacists stepping up and doing
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  Speaker 1: what was needed at that point in time. And so,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I think that this research today sort of
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  Speaker 1: shows you as well the way in which our pharmacists
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  Speaker 1: could be doing that extra bit and helping the health
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  Speaker 1: system in general.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's pharmacists are a great resource. With the pharmacists
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  Speaker 2: that are currently working, if they haven't had enough training
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  Speaker 2: to do full scope of practice is already of course
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  Speaker 2: being developed now. It's a very extensive and they will
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  Speaker 2: retro train them so that they are able to do
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  Speaker 2: the job safely. And yeah, it's it's you know, the
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  Speaker 2: pharmacists are there, why aren't we utilizing them to their
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  Speaker 2: full scope when we have that desperate need with you
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  Speaker 2: know a lack of GPS and and you know rare
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  Speaker 2: ambulance ramping happening all the time.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Peter, I really appreciate your time this morning, Thanks
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  Speaker 1: so much for coming on and having a chat to us.
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  Speaker 1: And well and and as I said, World Pharmacists Day today,
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  Speaker 1: a big thank you to you and all the pharmacists
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  Speaker 1: around the territory for the work that you do.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Katie, anytime, thank you