Full scope critical for primary care

HAVING primary care workers operating below their full scope of practise is a “gross inefficiency” that needs to be addressed, Federal Shadow Health Minister, Mark Butler, believes.

Speaking during the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s fortnightly COVID-19 update webinar last night, Butler warned that existing workforce shortages in the primary care sector will be exacerbated as COVID moves from pandemic to being endemic, and having pharmacists, nurses and GPs operating to the full extent of their training would be critical.

“It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever at a time of skyrocketing demand for healthcare and workforce shortages, not to have every single health professional in the country operating at the top of their scope of practise,” he said.

“It is a gross inefficiency that makes sure the community gets the lowest possible return on the big investment the community makes in training hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals.

“It’s in our broader community interest to make sure that everyone is operating as close to the top of their scope of practise as possible.

“If we’re elected, and I’m appointed as the Health Minister after the next election, it’s been crystal clear to me over the months I’ve been in this portfolio, that primary care should be our key focus.

“And one of the most significant things I want to focus on is making sure that across the spectrum of health professionals we can make sure that people genuinely are working as a team and [are] operating as close to the top of their scope of practise as possible.”

During the hour-long webinar, Butler also pledged to engage with the Guild on its Affordable Medicines Reform policy, describing the organisation’s call for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) non-concessional co-payment to be cut, as “exciting thinking”.