The NHS is facing its own winter of discontent: A&E waiting times are surging, GP availability is plunging and a strike is brewing. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), says Britain is facing a ‘de facto general strike’: from nurses to ambulance drivers to doctors – even in emergency departments and cancer centres – as they ask for pay rises.
Today the Sunday Telegraph reports that (privately-run) pharmacies may be called in to help and given power to prescribe for simple conditions to help ease pressures in A&E departments. I argue in the current edition of The Spectator how they could easily help plug plug the gap that exists between GPs and A&Es by prescribing for minor ailments.
Pharmacists in Scotland are slightly ahead of the curve, with the Pharmacy First programme allowing them to prescribe, albeit to a limited degree, antibiotics, antivirals and even some steroids. Former health secretary Sajid Javid wanted to introduce a similar system in England but backlash from No.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in