Purpose
The purpose of the SOP describes the process for formally referring patients from the Severnside IUC advice queue in the out-of-hours period to a community pharmacy as part of Pharmacy First (formally NHS Community Pharmacy Consultation Service).
Pharmacy First was launched by NHS England to facilitate same or next day appointments with community pharmacists for minor illness or for an urgent supply of regular medicine. More information can be found here.
Pharmacy First referrals are already being used in BNSSG by care navigators in General Practice, receptionists at Minor Injuries Units /Urgent Treatment Centres and from the Emergency Departments.
During periods of high demand, when Severnside is experiencing long patient waits and increased clinical risk, this process can formally direct patients of low acuity to the most appropriate place for their care. This in turn may contribute to reducing the number of patients in the advice queue, reduce patient waits (for those referred and those remaining), and as a consequence reduce the level of clinical risk.
See flow chart of whole process – Appendix Three.