ABC Article: “Residents missing out on care before crisis point: pharmacist”
ABC News: Ellen Coulter
The GP clinic is closed on the weekend, and there is no after-hours service in the area, except the ambulance.
That means Bel Bird's main street pharmacy does a lot more than fill prescriptions.
"One of the things we do get asked about a lot is 'what do I do, where do I go, my doctor is closed or I can't get in' and so we welcome the opportunity to help people through that but it is taking up a lot of our resources to do that," Ms Bird said.
The pharmacy sees people present with serious burns, animal bites and other issues that can't wait until the GP clinic opens.
Those patients are usually referred to the after-hours services in Derwent Park or Rosny, facing an out-of-pocket fee and potential transport issues.
Ms Bird said low health literacy in the Derwent Valley also contributed to how busy the ambulance was.
"Because when people don't understand what their options are, they end up just in a panic in the middle of the night and triple-0 is their only option at that time," Ms Bird said.
“I think there are a lot of people who are missing out on getting care before crisis point”
The coronavirus pandemic has made non-emergency issues easier, with the availability of telehealth.
Continued dispensing arrangements have also been what Bel Bird calls a "lifesaver" — allowing pharmacists to supply some medications without a new prescription.
"And that gives people then the chance to book in and see their regular doctor and get their prescriptions refreshed without running out or having to go to hospital or after hours to get a prescription."
Ms Bird would like to see those arrangements continued, but also believes the area needs an after-hours service.
"And if we had an after-hours service, I think a lot of people who sort of put up with things and let them get worse and worse until there's no choice but to present at emergency it would capture a lot of those things."
A spokesman from the Tasmanian Health Department said the level of demand in New Norfolk did not support the delivery of emergency services.
This is an excerpt of the article “In New Norfolk in Tasmania's Derwent Valley, you can't see a doctor on the weekend”, written by Ellen Coulter and published by the ABC on Thursday 27th August 2020.
Read the article in full
