Five pounds of potatoes and a health check please
PATIENTS will be able to receive medical treatment and check-ups as they do their weekly shop, in a radical shake-up of the health service announced yesterday.
Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, pledged to improve public health, tackle inequalities and speed up access to care in the ambitious three-year action plan.
One of the most innovative schemes is to offer walk-in services at community pharmacies based at main commuter points, major shopping centres and inner-city areas.
Pilot projects in Grampian, Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Tayside will be up and running by March.
However, political opponents questioned the lack of focus in the new action plan.
Ms Sturgeon insisted that the strategy was all part of turning around the health of Scotland.
With more people demanding GP services out of hours, Ms Sturgeon said NHS Boards and GP practices will also be asked to provide a more accessible service to fit in with patients’ lives.
Walk-in centres run by nurses and community pharmacists will also provide complementary services, such as sexual health screening, adult immunisations and simple diagnostic tests.
Pilot projects in the five main population centres in Scotland will inform which services will be made available. In Glasgow and Edinburgh the centres will be at branches of Boots the chemist.
On the 60th anniversary of the NHS, Ms Sturgeon said that primary care must be more accessible.
“The pilot is about providing accessible, convenient high-street facilities available to patients who would otherwise have to make an appointment,” she said.
“The objective is to make primary care more accessible if we are to meet the challenges of the future.”
The British Medical Association Scotland welcomed the walk-in centres, but said GPs would only be able to work flexible hours with increased resources.
A spokesman added: “We are keen to ensure that any changes to the existing hours represent the best use of scarce resources and do not detract from our ability to deliver services to those with the greatest need.”
The action plan also introduced a number of measures to tackle health inequalities, such as scrapping prescription charges and improve public health, among them increased funding to fight obesity, tobacco and alcohol.
However, Margaret Curran, Labour’s health spokeswoman, said the ambitious plans cannot be met without increased spending and more targets.
By LOUISE GRAY
news.scotsman.com
