WHILE pharmacists in the ACT are pushing for Government funding to provide after-hours care and National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines to patients, their peers in the north east of England have landed a deal to fund a pilot program for intravenous drug users.
Under a new program community pharmacists will provide drug users who present for a blood test to assess their hepatitis C status will receive up to 25 to use in Greggs, a nation-wide bakery chain.
The sandwich scheme will be open to patients who have registered as drug users with the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
As part of the pilot patients will be required to allow pharmacists to take a blood sample, which will be sent to the Gateshead and South Tyneside Local Pharmaceutical Committee laboratory for testing, with the results returned to the patient's pharmacist.
All this sounds relatively simple, a few drops of blood in exchange for a meal, however, there's a catch - each patient has to agree to undergo treatment before the pharmacist can give them the 25 sandwich voucher.
So, why do researchers believe they'll win drug users over with baked dough, rather than cold hard cash?
A poll of users revealed Greggs as their favourite dining destination.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 19 Nov 19
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