Lucy Dunn Lucy Dunn

Why not let pharmacists prescribe medication?

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It started as a small red shadow on my nose that gradually began to spread as the inflammation took hold. Soon the lesion was painful. A golden crust appeared and my suspicions were confirmed: impetigo.

Impetigo is an incredibly infectious skin condition – and if left untreated, it can scar. Topical antibiotics – fucidin ointment – work a treat, but I had just moved to London and had no GP in the city.

I wasn’t too worried, though. The importance of the ‘multidisciplinary team’ had been branded on to my brain from day one of medical school and so I called my nearest Boots. ‘I have impetigo,’ I told them, ‘and I’m looking for fucidin.’ I was to come in and ask for the pharmacist, they said. So I did exactly that.

Peering over the top of his glasses, the pharmacist wrinkled his nose. ‘It does look bad,’ he murmured, and then shuffled the papers in front of him and pulled out some form of impetigo checklist. It didn’t feel necessary. I clearly met the criteria. He asked me some questions. I answered them. ‘You’ll have to go to your GP,’ he said at last. ‘You need an antibiotic for this.’

‘I was told I could get that here,’ I replied. He shook his head, eyes already on the customer behind me. ‘We can’t prescribe you antibiotics without a prescription from your GP.’ ‘My GP is in Glasgow,’ I said, and it was a Sunday. ‘Phone 111,’ he advised. ‘You need to get it treated quickly. Today.’ Really? I could see the cream only a metre behind him.

I phoned 111, listened to the pre-recorded message about going straight to hospital if you have chest pain, and felt like an idiot. An hour later, I was still on the phone. ‘You’ll have to go to your nearest A&E,’ the woman on the line told me.

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