LOCAL Member of Parliament Jonathan Edwards was joined by his predecessor Adam Price this week as he learned about how his Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituents are benefiting from the expertise of pharmacists.
On Friday the Plaid Cymru politicians were welcomed to the Margaret Street Pharmacy in Ammanford by pharmacists, Spencer Lawrence along with Richard Evans, a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Welsh Pharmacy Board and Elen Jones – Policy and Practice Lead for the Society.
During the visit it was explained that community pharmacists are investing more time in direct patientfacing services as well as ensuring all prescribed medicines are dispensed safely and accurately and advising patients on their use.
Consultation rooms are now available in most community pharmacies to allow for private discussions on a range of health and wellbeing issues. Pharmacists regularly advise and help people to stop smoking, to understand more about their medicines through a medicines use review, and can now treat and prescribe medicines for minor ailments such as earache.
Speaking after the visit, Member of Parliament Jonathan Edwards told The Herald:”This was a wonderful opportunity for me to understand more about the pharmacy profession.
“Pharmacists undoubtedly play a vital role in our communities in advising people about the best medicines to treat their symptoms.
“I’m also pleased that they are now playing an increasingly important role in helping people avoid illnesses in the first place by advising patients on healthy lifestyle choices. The smoking cessation service is a prime example of this role”.
Candidate for the upcoming Assembly election, Adam Price added: “I was delighted to accept the invitation to visit Margaret Street Pharmacy. We are all aware of the increasing workload pressures on our GP and A&E services in Wales. As the ‘front door’ to the health service on the high street, the next Welsh Government must ensure that we make the most use of the skills of our community pharmacists.
“They are well placed to deal with common ailments such as colds, hay fever and conjunctivitis as well as helping patients manage chronic conditions such as asthmas and diabetes”.
Representatives from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Richard Evans and Elen Jones also advised of the potential for community pharmacies to provide more services in Wales.
Managing the medications for treating chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma is an area where pharmacists could play a much greater role, supporting patients to understand how to take their medicines for best effect and reviewing the type of medicines prescribed to them.
It was emphasised that pharmacists would continue to work closely with their GP colleagues if such a service were developed in Wales, ensuring the best treatment possible. Using the skills of pharmacists in this way will help to speed up access for patients to healthcare services, relieve pressures on GP services and ensure GPs are given the time to deal with more complex cases.
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