Pharmacy services are being extended as part of new measures announced by the First Minister as Scotland approaches a rapid acceleration of the virus.

As positive case numbers rise to 499 in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon today outlined a new service to alleviate the pressure placed on GP services by the covid-19 pandemic.  

Professor Harry McQuillan, CEO of Community Pharmacy Scotland, said the changes are part of a "rapid redesign" of the health system taking place.

Virtual community hubs are being established to provide clinical advice and support to covid-19 patients, who can then be sent on to an in-person assessment centre.

People are now being advised to call 111 rather than their GP should they have symptoms of coronavirus.

“The community hub is a virtual hub that you get to through 111,” the Health Secretary Jeane Freeman explained today. “You will be transferred over to the hub if appropriate and this is available in every health board across Scotland.

“It means anyone with symptoms and needing help or advice can call the number day or night, seven days a week.”

No details of the locations of in-person assessment centres were given, but Jeane Freeman gave assurances they were operating in all but two of Scotland’s 14 regional health boards, with the last ones expected to begin operating by the end of the week.   

While reminding people that “life should not be carrying on as normal”, the First Minister also announced the minor ailment service run by community pharmacies was being extended.

Last week, NHS boards were told to grant pharmacists access to patients’ emergency care summaries so they could check what medicines someone was already taking before making a decision on any new prescriptions.

Extending the minor ailment service is intended to make it easier for patients to get the support they need for non-covid-19 related illnesses, and to ease some of the pressure that is mounting on other parts of the health service, including GP practices.

Professor Harry McQuillan, CEO of Community Pharmacy Scotland said: “These hubs are part of a rapid redesign of the whole healthcare system. We welcome their creation as this will provide people who are symptomatic with a single point of contact, and prevent them from having to navigate their local healthcare system.

"This also reduces the risk for community pharmacy teams as fewer people with symptoms will present at their front door, as has been happening in some areas over the past week.

"The extension of the Minor Ailment Service in advance of the full launch of NHS Pharmacy First starts to paint a picture of what community pharmacy’s place in this new world is – beyond the crucial supply of medicines, our teams will assess and support all people with minor conditions (which are not consistent with Covid-19), fully utilising their skills to keep their communities well.”

These are part of broader “necessary measures” the First Minister said must be taken in conjunction with strict adherence to social distancing in order to avoid the NHS being overwhelmed. “If that happens”, Ms Sturgeon cautioned, “people will die needlessly”.

That Scotland is on the cusp of a sharp increase in cases was put into stark terms by Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood today. Speaking of the 14 coronavirus deaths that had now occurred north of the border, she said:

“Each probably represent up to around 1,000 people who have become infected. There are 23 people in intensive care with coronavirus, and they represent 4-500 other people that will have become infected in the course of their illness.”

 

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