Pharmacy Daily | Public/private divide

FRONTLINE primary healthcare providers including pharmacists and GPs should be engaged by State and Territory governments to assist with disaster planning, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia 2019 Pharmacist of the Year, Peter Crothers, believes.

Speaking with Pharmacy Daily, the Bourke-based pharmacist said the ongoing bushfires in NSW showed the State's healthcare officials need to take a more proactive approach to disaster management.

"We shouldn't wait until these disasters unfold to plan, because that just requires us all to be heroes," he said.

"It's chaotic and what's coming out of the NSW fires is it's just completely overwhelmed whatever resources the State Government thought it had and they haven't been able to work well with non-State Government resources, so it's just got to change.

"There's a very strong sense in NSW - and if you're a rural clinician like I am, you've know this for a long time - there's sharp dividing line between the State-funded healthcare system and what are euphemistically described as 'private providers'.

"It's sort of like we're beyond the pale.

"Over several decades NSW Health has gradually cut itself off more and more from what it refers to as 'private providers' and they've become extremely difficult to work with - and when it comes to these disaster scenarios it's been brought into very sharp focus."

Bushfire-affected pharmacist and Rural Pharmacy Network Australia member, Erin Trelfall, said pharmacies have become hubs for communities impacted by the blazes, with pharmacists collaborating with each other and GPs to help patients.

"I feel we should not have had to reach out for help, there should be plans in place for pharmacy to be included in disaster planning, preparedness, and response on the ground," she said.

"Pharmacists being the most widely distributed and accessible healthcare professionals are ideally placed to assist people and their communities at times of disaster."