Access has previously been limited to GPs, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

Pilots are being considered in community pharmacies across England in a step towards government proposals for pharmacies to take on more clinical work.

David Pruce, RPSGB director of policy and communications, said: ‘Pharmacists already have access to care records in a variety of settings, including hospital Read more »

The inquiry, being undertaken by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Muscular Dystrophy, will focus on access to multi-disciplinary care, commissioning and funding, workforce planning and the role of care co-ordinators.

The investigation follows a number of reports published by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign which reveal that life expectancy and quality of life is being seriously affected by a postcode lottery in service provision.
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Here’s how the primary care shortage is driving up emergency department use.

A recent study reported by the Boston Globe found that despite 92 percent of patients having a primary care provider, use of emergency services continued to rise. 14 percent said that they went to the ED once in the past year for problems that could have been treated by their regular doctors. That’s important, since care in the ED is often Read more »

The NHS Information Centre figures show a 4.3% drop in the number of dental patients seen by the NHS between the two years to 31 March 2006 and two years to 30 June 2008.

This is despite health secretary Alan Johnson’s recent assertion that access to NHS dentistry was improving.

Shadow Conservative health minister Mike Penning said: ‘This is simply unacceptable. Patients have now had to ensure more than two Read more »