Pharmacy Reform To Boost Community Health Care In The Riverina

If you’re one of the many patients finding it difficult to get into your GP, the NSW Government aims to ease the pressure by making it easier to access more medications through the local pharmacy.

Duty MLC For Wagga Wagga and Murray, Wes Fang said the pharmacy reform would expand the number of vaccinations pharmacists could administer, trial pharmacists prescribing medication for urinary tract infections and develop a pilot for trained pharmacists to prescribe medications for a range of other conditions.

“These ground-breaking reforms aim to relieve pressure on emergency departments and wait times to see a GP by giving our community more access to primary care services,” Mr Fang said.

The NSW Government will do this by:

• Authorising pharmacists to administer a wider range of public health and travel vaccinations from November 14, including Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, Poliomyelitis, Typhoid and Zoster.
• Funding a 12-month trial to evaluate allowing pharmacists to prescribe medication for urinary tract infections; and
• Supporting a state-wide pilot where appropriately trained pharmacists can prescribe medications for certain conditions, such as skin ailments, ear infections, and hormonal contraception.

Mr Fang said that the COVID-19 pandemic proved a prime example of just how vital a role local pharmacists played in keeping the community safe and well.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us opted to visit our local and trusted pharmacist to receive a vaccine,” Mr Fang said.

“The community will be able to visit an appropriately trained pharmacist to get a script for things like urinary tract infection or birth control, easing the burden on our local GPs and reducing wait times for others that require more specialised care.”

NSW Health will work with pharmacists to support the expansion of the vaccination program with education modules and materials for both themselves and their customers.

NSW pharmacists are currently able to administer six vaccines, including COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.

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• Health & Wellbeing