The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has just released a statement saying the Pharmacy Guild’s true intentions for the future of the sector are nothing short of alarming and that the nation’s leaders should "wake up to what is happening".

The RACGP broadside follows comments made by Pharmacy Guild President Trent Twomey at the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association Congress event in Canberra this week. 

RACGP claims that in his presentation Twomey labelled GPs as “twits” and said greater funding was not required for general practice; reportedly made the unprecedented suggestion that pharmacists should be able to prescribe, dispense, administer, and review “all medicines for all people”; and described as “bloody insulting” the idea that pharmacists should only prescribe medications when working in cohort with a medical practitioner, likening it to a “plumber needing to look over the shoulder of an electrician” when installing air-conditioning. 

Further, RACGP stated that Twomey said being able to prescribe, dispense, administer, and review medicines are not specialities, that “no one gives a s**t”; and described the nation’s health system as “stuffed”.

The RACGP and other health groups including the Australian Medical Association have previously warned that experiments such as the North Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot are fragmenting care and leading to poorer patient health outcomes.
 
The College also criticised the Queensland Government’s decision to extend the Urinary Tract Infection prescribing pilot and expressed strong concern that other jurisdictions, including New South Wales and Victoria, are following suit and handing more prescribing powers to pharmacists without due regard for patient safety and wellbeing.

RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said Twomey’s comments revealed what many healthcare experts have long suspected.

“The Pharmacy Guild is out of control,” she said.

“In this extraordinary speech, Trent Twomey has laid bare the Guild’s future intentions for their sector and the future of healthcare in Australia.

“According to them, the limits on pharmacy prescribing should be done away with. Describing the idea of pharmacists only having extended powers if working in cohort with trained medical professionals as ‘bloody insulting’ shows the true mindset of the Pharmacy Guild," Higgins fumed.
 
“In this speech, there is no mention of patient safety, it is all about exerting power and extending the role of pharmacy to maximise pharmacy owner profits at any cost. The speech is nothing short of astonishing, it should send a shiver down the spine of politicians everywhere," she added.

“The language used, the brazen way he addresses very serious healthcare issues, and the underlying arrogance informing this speech demonstrates that the Pharmacy Guild should be approached warily," Higgins said, warning that there may be "worse to come".

More details in Monday's issue of Pharmacy Daily.