North Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot.
Some big changes are coming to community pharmacy in North Queensland who are participating in the North Queensland Community Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot. The Pilot will be able to offer treatment for more everyday health conditions right within the community pharmacy. Prior to the pandemic starting, Queenslanders demanded for the supply of healthcare to be increased however with the pandemic it only escalated stress on the Heathcare system.
Doctors reporting they're tired and overworked resulting in longer wait times for appointments. Alongside this, more general practices are moving away from bulk-billing, and you're having to pay more for healthcare services.
In some North Queensland towns, GP's are closing down leaving you and your family without a doctor. Resulting from this, Queenslanders are having to seek out hospital emergency departments for healthcare services causing over-crowding and long waiting times.
The Pilot represents one small change that can help relieve these problems ensuring you and your family can access the healthcare services you deserve more conveniently. This means as you will be able to walk into a pharmacy with or without an
appointment and have a private and confidential consultation with your trained community pharmacist. Those community pharmacists will be able to assess, diagnose and treat an increased list of everyday health conditions from ear infections or help you better manage some chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
Queensland community pharmacy has a long and proud history of supporting their local community and working for patients’ best interests.
The geographic region of the Pilot includes Mackay and all the way north to Thursday Island, west to the Queensland/Northern Territory state border with such towns as Mount Isa, Townsville and Cairns included. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the Pilot on Thursday 13 October 2022. Following the announcement, interested community pharmacists enrolled in the Pilot. To be able to offer you and your family treatment for more everyday health conditions, community pharmacists will undertake additional training provided by James Cook University and Queensland University of Technology over 12-16 months. Once the training is completed, around January 2024, you will be able to see your local community pharmacist for a consultation regarding a very limited list of health conditions below.
This is a very new and for some health professionals a very emotional pilot in mainstream and social media. To find out more use trusted sources for more information such as pharmacyfullscope.com.au.
