Any community pharmacists here..or familiar with role?

[Schwarzville]

Had letter saying from GP, saying appointment has been made for me with a 'community pharmacist'.
What exactly do they do? I had a blood test recently so assume it's connected to that.
Am very anxious about it!

There are lots of GP surgeries employing pharmacists to see patients for issues within their scope of practice for medication reviews etc to free up GP time

Many of them are prescribers, so can prescribe eg. iron supplements if you are found to be anaemic on a blood test

If you share what your blood test was looking for then I might be able to give more of an idea on what to expect? Are you currently taking any medication?

Please don't be nervous though! They'll be very nice

What was the blood test for? Some community pharmacists can prescribe but usually only for acute conditions.

They are able to carry out medication reviews. Potentially the GP has prescribed new meds and wants the pharmacist to discuss them.

I work in community pharmacy but in Wales and it seems a different world to how things work in Englans for some reason - I live on the boarder and have some friends who work in England and some things are very different. I haven't come across this before.

I take a tablet for high BP, which works well. No increase in dosage needed snce 2019.
I do have high cholesterol. Ah, I bet they're going to prescribe statins. I dont want them!

No other medication

If the GP has prescribed new meds it would have been nice if they had told me.

Sorry about this, I have a rather boisterous baby on my lap!

The blood test was my annual over 40 review.
I'm rather annoyed about the poor communication if GP has prescribed a statin without discussion.

There’s a new (and poorly publicised) scheme called Community Pharmacist Consultation Service where GP practices can refer patients to a pharmacist for a range of conditions. It could be that. The idea is that a pharmacist can assess you and if you need a prescription they can ping it to the GP electronically for sign off.

If you’re on BP medication or your blood test has shown something easily treatable - for eg an iron or vit D deficiency - it will be the quickest and easiest way for you to be seen.

I think lots of other countries use pharmacies this way.

Why don’t you want a statin?

So is a communication pharmacist someone working in a high street pharmacy ? How much detail of my medical record will have been sent to this person?

community, not communication!

@Hobbes8

There’s a new (and poorly publicised) scheme called Community Pharmacist Consultation Service where GP practices can refer patients to a pharmacist for a range of conditions. It could be that. The idea is that a pharmacist can assess you and if you need a prescription they can ping it to the GP electronically for sign off.

If you’re on BP medication or your blood test has shown something easily treatable - for eg an iron or vit D deficiency - it will be the quickest and easiest way for you to be seen.

I think lots of other countries use pharmacies this way.

It could be this scheme. I'm not at all familiar with it. I wish the GP had sent more information about this in the letter.

Yes, a community pharmacist is a pharmacist that works in a community pharmacy. Theoretically they can see anything that’s on your summary care record but they should ask for permission from you to view it first. Community Pharmacists are highly trained health care professionals. Not everyone that works in a Pharmacy is a Pharmacist

No, the pharmacist will be based in your GP surgery - well ours is. They can help with medication reviews / alternatives or changes in doses.

That’s a GP Practice Pharmacist. Presumably if they said Community they mean community.

Something similar happened to me today. Called GP re: eczema on my 4 month old. Fully expected either appointment or prescription, instead doctor referred me for a telephone appointment with a pharmacist. I was offered the choice of 2 pharmacies. Thought it was really odd, never happened before.

The scheme has been around a while but all GP Practices were asked to sign up to it by 31st March this year, so there might be lots of practices new to it.

Yes, a community pharmacist is one who works behind the counter at a high street pharmacy. Not all pharmacists will have signed up to deliver the scheme but all the major chains (Boots, Lloyds and what have you) will have done and many independent pharmacists have done so too.

They will only be able to see medical records if you have given permission (or at least been given notice that this would happen and not opted out). You might have done this if you signed up the NHS app for example. They will be governed by all the same rules as someone who works in a GP practice or a hospital - they will only be able to access what they need to see and will be bound by confidentiality.

I wish the government would tell the public this - they make GPs do these things and then let them deal with any fallout from anxious patients. Obviously in an ideal world your GP would have been able to explain this to you...but in all honesty if they’d done that they might as well have seen you themselves and the whole point of the scheme is to help GPS manage sky high demand for their time.

I’m sure it will be nothing to worry about...but if the pharmacist can’t help you you can always go back to your GP. I hope it’s ok for you.

Thank you for the explanation Hobbes8.

Regarding the poor communication, the health centre should have produced a patient leaflet to explain about this scheme.

As for the medical records, I live semi rural and the only pharmacy locally is a small Boots.
I'm not at all happy about the pharmacist there being able to see my medical record. I am signed up to the NHS app and at no point during the sign up did it say that random pharmacists would be able to read it!

I would have no problem with him being able to view the relevant bits of the blood test, and current medication.
But there is highly personal information in my GP notes that frankly, a high street pharmacist does not need to see.

The CPCS scheme is for minor ailments or emergency supplies of existing medication. I can't see how this service would be appropriate in this situation.

'Random' community pharmacists have no access to your medical notes. If you give them permission, they can check the medication page of your summary care record but nothing else. Your medical notes and history are visible to pharmacists working in the practice, like they are to receptionists, nurses and GPs. These pharmacists perform medication reviews and some can prescribe. It seems most likely that they have misspoke and didn't meant to use the word community.

No, they won’t see it all. They will only see the relevant information. They should ask permission before accessing your summary care record. And you can refuse for information to be shared. Please don’t worry.

I agree it’s very poor communication to be sent a random letter telling you to see a community pharmacist. Especially if you don’t understand the job role/qualification. Most people think the job of a pharmacist is just handing out boxes of tablets.

Regarding the poor communication, the health centre should have produced a patient leaflet to explain about this scheme.

Should they though? It’s a national scheme...is the most efficient use of NHS resources for each individual health centre to produce a leaflet? Or should the government who have requested each GP practice sign up to this scheme take some responsibility for the communication?

I'll update the thread after my phone appointment on Thursday.

Another annoying issue here is that they didn't give me a time for this phone call, just a vague 'will call you between 8.30am - 12.30pm'. I'm unable to take personal calls at work so have had to book leave.

I’m sorry I’m immature and shouldn’t say. But community pharmacist definitely sounds like an upmarket term for the local drug dealer

@Hobbes8

Regarding the poor communication, the health centre should have produced a patient leaflet to explain about this scheme.

Should they though? It’s a national scheme...is the most efficient use of NHS resources for each individual health centre to produce a leaflet? Or should the government who have requested each GP practice sign up to this scheme take some responsibility for the communication?

I don't care who produced it! They had to use a sheet of paper to send me the letter about the appointment, it wouldn't take that much effort to print off another one to stick in the envelope.

I'm sure that I'm not the only patient who will not have a clue about this. If I'd arrived home before the GP closed tonight I would have been on the phone to them asking about this, therefore wasting the receptionist's time instead of having to ask Mumsnetters!

I'm a GP practice Pharmacist and yes I deal with a huge amount of medication related issues to free up GP time for diagnosis and more complex queries. We work within surgeries and have full access to your medical record just as doctors and nurses would. We're healthcare professionals so of course are bound to the same confidentiality and professionalism as anyone else in healthcare. We're duly qualified with masters degrees, and a years training before we qualify. Many of us also have further clinical diplomas and are independent prescribers so don't need to refer to a GP to prescribe medication appropriately.

If it is regarding your cholesterol then it would be a full discussion with you regarding your current cholesterol levels, and the potential risks that this may expose you to. If a statin is appropriate, then we would discuss the full risks and benefits to you so you can make an informed decision about your long term health. In most cases a statin is appropriate and would massively lower your risk of strokes and further heart disease in future.

A community pharmacist works within high street pharmacies and is qualified with the same master's degree. They do the community pharmacy consultation scheme where GPs can refer patients to them for minor illnesses. It is unlikely you'll see them because if it is for statin we would need to be able to see your blood tests and previous medical history to prescribe the most appropriate statin and ensure blood test monitoring was put in place if you started it.

Hope that helps ease your mind.

Thank you,appzy.