Dr Preshan Jeevaratnam welcomes the NHS England plan but says he's "not sure the infrastructure is there"NHS England's plan to use high street pharmacies for some common prescription drugs and routine tests needs the right investment, says a Southampton GP.
"I think he was pleased to be back here in Southampton and he made several references about his time here," Dr Jeevaratnam told the BBC.The prime minister had his blood pressure taken by a pharmacist during his visit to the GP surgery and pharmacy in Weston, Southampton He explained: "At the moment we have blood pressure machines in our waiting room which link in with our clinical systems and can flag a clinical response - I think there will need to be some investment to make sure similar systems are in place in other pharmacies.""There's a lot of things we deal with in primary care that could be dealt with in a well-resourced pharmacy setting - that's the key, well-resourced," he said.
He said investing in primary care could have a "real impact elsewhere in the health service", adding: "There's a lot we can do in general practice if we were resourced to do it - and not only deliver high quality but it's also cost effective for the public purse.