The introduction of a Minor Ailment Scheme into pharmacies nationwide could alleviate the need for almost 950,000 GP consultations every year, it has been claimed.

According to the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), pharmacists are ‘ready, willing and waiting to enhance the levels of care they provide', and a Minor Ailment Scheme could help to take some of the pressure off busy GPs.

It noted that in 2016, the IPU and the HSE collaborated on a successful three-month pilot Minor Ailment Scheme in four towns - Kells, Roscommon, Macroom and Edenderry.

This scheme allowed medical card holders in those towns to receive treatment for a number of specified ailments (dry eye, dry skin, scabies, threadworms and vaginal thrush) directly from their local community pharmacy, without the need for an unnecessary visit to the GP.

An evaluation of this pilot scheme concluded that expanding it nationwide would be cost-effective for the Exchequer, would alleviate pressure on GP surgeries and would potentially prevent unnecessary use of Emergency Department services.

However, the scheme was never implemented, even though most IPU members said they would welcome it.

Now, as part of its pre-Budget submission, the IPU is again calling for the introduction of such a scheme. It is also calling for a New Medicine Service to be rolled out.

Such a service would aim to improve adherence for people who have been newly prescribed medicines for certain long-term conditions, and would improve patients' health outcomes by ensuring more effective medicine-taking.

An economic analysis of a similar service that has operated in the UK since 2011 found that this has saved the NHS over £500 million in the long-term.

The IPU is also calling for a phasing out of the medical card prescription levy, particularly for vulnerable patients and those who cannot afford it. It said that this would help to prevent patients ‘with more complex medical needs being forced into advanced care in an already overburdened health system'.

"Pharmacists are ready and willing to enhance the levels of care they provide. The IPU has made several policy proposals to the Department of Health, which offered pharmacy-based solutions to primary healthcare deficits. We would like to see a greater role for pharmacists in supporting self-care, in line with other countries such as the UK, Canada and New Zealand," commented IPU president, Daragh Connolly.

Meanwhile, as part of its pre-Budget submission, the IPU has also called for the ‘immediate unwinding' of FEMPI (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest).

It pointed out that since 2009, the State has taken out over €3.1 billion from the community pharmacy sector, with almost €1.4 billion of this through FEMPI measures alone.

"There are currently over 1,800 community pharmacies treating patients throughout the country. The majority (89%) of these remain family-owned businesses, each of whom has been badly impacted by FEMPI cuts.

"The average pharmacy relies on State schemes for two-thirds of its revenues, but a decade of decline has seen the average turnover per pharmacy from State schemes decrease by a third," Mr Connolly explained.

He said that this is leading to ‘huge pressures' and a risk of closure, particularly for pharmacies in disadvantaged and rural areas.

"It is now long overdue that action is taken on FEMPI, that cuts are reversed and that the important role of community pharmacists is recognised to ensure equity, fairness and the sustainability of pharmacies in communities across the country.

"With nearly 78 million visits to community pharmacies every year, pharmacists are the most accessed healthcare professionals in Ireland and expanding their role will provide significant benefits to both the patient and the State," Mr Connolly added.

Budget 2019 will be announced on October 9.