A trial has ended for pharmacies to prescribe UTI and oral contraceptive medication

A trial allowing pharmacists to prescribe certain medications has ended for regional and rural residents. Here’s the latest on the next steps.

Regional and rural residents can no longer access antibiotics for urinary tract infections and refills of the contraceptive pill at the pharmacy without seeing their GP for a prescription.

The statewide pilot trial across the state’s west, including Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst, Barwon and Cootamundra, giving people access to access everyday medications from community pharmacists has ended.

There is no confirmed date of when the program, which ran for six months, would be rolled out permanently.

During the trial, more than 8000 people in NSW obtained prescription medication from their community pharmacies instead of attending their GP.

Dubbo resident Zoe Macfarlan said since relocating to the town mid last year, she had “incredible difficulty” securing a GP.

Dubbo Base Hospital. Picture: Ryan Young

“It was convenient to be able to go to the pharmacy, especially to avoid adding to the congestion of the already swamped emergency room,” Ms Macfarlan said.

Legislative Council member Stephen Lawrence said he understood the difficulty of accessing a GP, “let alone one that bulk bills”.

Legislative Council member Stephen Lawrence. Picture: Toby Zerna

“By enabling pharmacists to dispense these medicines, we are clearing the way for those who need to access GPs the most.

“I’ve got information that people are paying $20 for these consultations, so that seems really economical in this cost-of-living pressured times.”

Mr Lawrence said he had no further information on the future of the program but is hopeful of the rollout.

“I think it’s a really commendable initiative,” he said.

These sorts of things are difficult for government because we all know that professions guard up their respective roles really jealously and you need to always be really careful and consult a lot about when those lines are going to be changed but sometimes it must happen.

“This certainly seemed like a positive initiative to me, and I think members of the community would see that common sense in the sort of prescriptions being able to be written by a pharmacist,” he said.