Essential role in future NHS care

SCOTLAND on Sunday featured a story about how the contraceptive pill was now available without prescription in an innovative scheme in an Aberdeen pharmacy (News, 29 April). This is not the case. The service on offer in Aberdeen has been run in a small number of pharmacies across Scotland by pharmacists who have qualified as prescribers and who work in partnership with family planning clinics. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society supports such innovations. Pharmacists are ideally positioned to provide contraceptive services and we hope it becomes more widely available across Scotland.

Over 25 per cent of women in Scotland use the contraceptive pill. The vast majority take it on a long-term basis with no difficulties. Yet renewing the prescription can require a trip to the GP. This is an inconvenience to women that can involve time off work and a poor use of a GP’s time.

Innovative services which allow pharmacists to make more of their expertise in medicines and accessibility are essential for the future of the NHS in Scotland. Patient numbers are increasing, as is the pressure on budgets. The Scottish Government has recently embarked on a review of pharmacy in Scotland’s communities. We believe this is an opportunity for the pharmacy profession’s skills to be better used to improve patient care and make better use of NHS resources.

Sandra Melville, Chair, Scottish Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society