Pharmacies nearly 50% more ‘accessible’ than GPs
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Community pharmacies were “the most accessible healthcare location” compared to general practice and other healthcare settings in England last winter, a YouGov poll revealed today (May 20).
The poll – which surveyed 1,920 adults in England between May 12 and 13 - found that 49% more respondents found community pharmacy “easy to access” compared to general practice, according to Community Pharmacy England (CPE).
Some 58% of respondents found community pharmacy “easy to access”, with the next highest being general practice at 39% followed by dentists (37%), non-urgent hospital services (22%) and A&E (18%).
Read more: Public want more services offered at pharmacies, YouGov reveals
And respondents were 640% more likely to find general practice “difficult to access” compared to community pharmacy.
Only 5% of those surveyed said community pharmacies were “difficult to access”, compared with 37% for general practice – the highest proportion out of all healthcare settings.
“Better care for patients”
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair Olivier Picard said the research “rightly shows” that pharmacies are the “most convenient and easy to access part of our health system despite recent funding pressures”.
“Trusting pharmacies in England to treat a wider range of health conditions, like they already do in other parts of the UK, will deliver good value for money and better care for patients, avoiding the 8am scramble for a GP appointment,” he added.
And Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) head of policy Dr Nick Thayer said that it is “no surprise that community pharmacies were the most accessible healthcare locations for patients last winter”.
Read more: Quarter of GPs still not referring any patients to Pharmacy First
The poll, commissioned by CPE, showed respondents were most likely to report a “negative impact” on their medical condition when they struggled to access general practice.
Meanwhile, more than three-quarters (77%) of respondents said they would be “concerned” if their local community pharmacy closed, while 65% said pharmacies were “important” to them.
CPE NHS services director Alastair Buxton said community pharmacy has “so much to offer if it can be put on a sustainable footing”.
Read more: General practitioners and community pharmacists: the forever struggle?
“It is in all our interests to do all we can to protect and empower them,” he added.
It comes after another YouGov poll revealed in January that more than three-quarters of the public supported pharmacies providing treatment for additional conditions, including chest infections and skin conditions.
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