Pharmacy Daily | Pharmacy test-and-treat

PHARMACISTS in Wales have helped to reduce pressure on local general practice services and reduced antibiotic consumption by providing a sore throat test-and-treat (STTT) service in a pilot program.

Health boards across Wales have begun to roll out STTT services through more community pharmacies as a result of the trial's success, The Pharmaceutical Journal reports.

Launched as part of NHS Wales' 'Choose Pharmacy' service the STTT will now be expanded to cover all seven health boards.

The on-the-spot throat swab scheme, which aims to diagnose whether an illness is viral or bacterial and aid decisions about whether antibiotics are appropriate, was initially launched in selected pharmacies in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University and Betsi Cadwaladr University health board areas in autumn last year.

A spokesperson from the Welsh Government told The Pharmaceutical Journal that the STTT is to be expanded and delivered in more community pharmacies across Wales with 58 community pharmacies already providing the service.

The government anticipates at least half of all Welsh community pharmacies will be providing the service in the coming winter.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidance in October 2019, which did not recommend rapid tests for group A streptococcal infections as routine adoption for people with a sore throat.

Although NICE said it could not assess the cost-effectiveness of the service in a pharmacy setting, the Welsh Government said it was confident the service "did not result in increased antibiotic consumption."

An initial evaluation of 3,655 consultations, provided through the STTT, indicated antibiotics were supplied in only 21% of consultations.

"Small reductions in antibiotic prescribing [were] observed in the pilot areas when compared to areas in which the service was not available," the government said.

In another analysis, the pilot study showed that almost 94% of patients seen would have sought an appointment with a GP had the service not been available.

Around 80% of patients didn't receive antibiotics and almost all patients who provided feedback on the service said that they would return to the pharmacy instead of trying to see a GP next time they had a sore throat.