Michael McHale , 2025-11-14 16:39:00
Under the recently agreed Community Pharmacy Agreement, all interested pharmacies must sign up to the service by December 1 and must deliver the service to the public by March 31 next year in order to receive a once-off allowance of €2,000.
Pharmacists are set to begin prescribing for eight common conditions in the coming months after the Minister for Health formally signed off on new legislation today.
Under this Common Conditions Service (CCS), participating pharmacists will be able to prescribe certain medicines for minor, often self-limiting conditions.
Following the signing by Jennifer Carroll MacNeill of new regulations under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) is set to begin training sessions with pharmacists who wish to deliver the CCS in their own pharmacies.
“Guaranteeing faster access to treatment for common conditions will enable the public to access care in the right place, at the right time, by the right healthcare professional,” said Minister Carroll MacNeill.
“I encourage all pharmacists to avail of this training, which will allow them to apply their expertise to facilitating faster treatment and care to all those in their communities.”
Announced last year on the recommendations of the Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacy, the CCS will enable community pharmacists to manage common conditions by offering self-care advice, safety-netting, and, when appropriate, supplying certain over the counter and prescription-only medicines.
Once in operation the CCS will cover eight conditions: allergic rhinitis; cold sores; conjunctivitis; oral thrush; shingles; impetigo; uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uti)/cystitis; and vulvovaginal thrush.
Any pharmacist who wishes to prescribe under the CCS must undergo training, which will consist of a core module on the legal and ethical framework and professional matters, as well as an individual module for each common condition included in the service.
“The Common Conditions Service will expand community pharmacists’ ability to further support patients in the management and treatment of certain common conditions by enabling them to prescribe medicines where this is the most appropriate option,” said Joanne Kissane, Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI.
“This expanded role for pharmacists builds upon their existing knowledge and expertise in medicines and clinical care. It is our role, as the pharmacy regulator, to ensure that pharmacists have the necessary training and other regulatory supports to deliver this new service safely and effectively to the public. Pharmacists who will provide the service are required to undertake additional training that is now available.”
As per the recently agreed Community Pharmacy Agreement, all interested pharmacies must sign up to the service by December 1, and must deliver the service to the public by March 31 next year in order to receive a once-off allowance of €2,000.
“Each day in pharmacies across Ireland patients present with common self-limiting conditions, where pharmacists have the clinical knowledge but, until now, lacked the authority to provide the appropriate treatment,” said Tom Murray, President of the Irish Pharmacy Union.
“The CCS will change that, enabling pharmacists to deliver timely care and treatment, easing the burden on the wider healthcare system by offering care at the lowest level of complexity. We look forward to participating fully in the upcoming training and to playing a key role in improving access to care in our communities.”
