Community pharmacies play a vital role in providing essential services for the people with lung diseases, a latest study revealed on Wednesday (May 19).
A survey by the ‘Taskforce for Lung Health’ has noted that 95 per cent of the respondents with lung conditions thought the support they accessed in community pharmacy was valuable, essential or something that they ‘could not live without’.
Among those taking part, three-quarters (75 per cent) of those who use community pharmacies said that they value pharmacies services because “they are close to home and just over a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents stated that they found their local pharmacy easier to access than making a GP appointment.”
Other reasons for valuing pharmacies were their convenient opening hours and the fact that appointments were not needed to see a pharmacist.
However, 23 per cent of the total participants still not aware of the full range of services available in community pharmacies. Therefore, the Taksforce suggests that “it is important to encourage more people with lung conditions to make better use of community pharmacies and expand the services they offer to help ease the pressures faced by the NHS.”
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Alison Cook, chair of the Taskforce for Lung Health, said: “People with lung conditions have told us loud and clear that community pharmacies act as a lifeline for their care, but there is still work to do in making the wide variety of services available known to everyone.
“Investing in the services offered by community pharmacies would better meet the needs of people with lung disease and reduce the pressures faced by the NHS during the pandemic and beyond. It is now vital that everyone is made aware of the variety of services pharmacies offer and that further integration of local pharmacies into the NHS becomes a priority.”
