The Pharmacy Guild of Australia WA Branch notes comments in a joint media statement from two of the groups representing Australia's doctors; RACGP and AMA warning on immunisation program decision for Western Australia (21 Apr 2022).
In what appears to be a simple regurgitation of tired old arguments that in Western Australia stretch back to 2015, these groups conveniently overlook that, Western Australian pharmacists have administered:
- over a million COVID-19 vaccinations since July 2021, and
- over 180,000 influenza vaccines in the calendar year 2021.
Further, they seem to discount that pharmacists are tertiary trained medicines experts and administration of vaccines is recognised by the Pharmacy Board of Australia as being within their scope of practice.
As the then Western Australian Minister for Health and WA's Deputy Premier, Hon Roger Cook commented at the WA Pharmacy Forum in August 2021, COVID-19 has shone a light on the expertise and capacity of community pharmacy and the debate on pharmacy and immunisation is over.
The Western Australian Minister for Health, Hon Amber-Jade Sanderson also stands by community pharmacy as a trusted ally they can depend on to deliver when the time comes.
As government has recognised, without pharmacy the COVID-19 vaccination program would never have achieved the level of cover it did thereby saving countless lives and unnecessary hospital admissions.
The RACGP in its own report has advised parliament*, Western Australia does not have the GPs needed to provide the level of primary health cover the state requires.
If anyone or any group truly believes in vaccinating the population then they cannot possibly put their hand on their heart and oppose an expansion of pharmacy vaccinations with any level of credibility.
Ensuring services to patients is critical and given we're still in the COVID-19 pandemic and with reports of a bad influenza season approaching, that is where pharmacists are focussing their efforts.
Should the AMA or the RACGP wish to meet with the WA Branch to have meaningful discussion about improving services to the patient, our door is open.
* Provision of general practitioner and related primary health services to outer metropolitan, rural, and regional Australians - Submission 107
