Tuesday, 20 May 2025

Ministers statements: community pharmacists

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (12:12): The Allan Labor government is investing in making our hugely successful community pharmacist program a permanent feature of the Victorian healthcare system. This program is all about easing the cost of living for Victorian families and making it easier for Victorians to get the care that they need in their local communities, because our government is focused on what matters most to all Victorians.

Just this morning I joined the Premier with pharmacy owner George Tambassis, who is also the president of the guild, at his pharmacy in Richmond. There we were able to announce that the Allan Labor government will be investing an additional $18 million to make this program a permanent feature of our healthcare system. Unlike other states, there will be no charge for Victorians who are accessing treatment and care from their local pharmacy.

The program has already proved, as I said, hugely successful, with more than 830 pharmacies having delivered more than 45,000 consultations since the program commenced. The program has been an absolute game changer for women, delivering more than 19,000 consults for the treatment of uncomplicated UTIs and seeing more than 10,000 women for the resupply of the pill.

We will also be working with experts and clinical groups to enable even more treatments to be delivered by our community pharmacists. At the moment we have five conditions that can be treated by community pharmacies. We are working to expand that to 22, and this will include common complaints – things like nausea, reflux, school sores – as well as chronic disease management. This will absolutely reduce the burden on our hardworking GPs and allow them more time to focus on the delivery of care for more complex conditions. Only an Allan Labor government can be trusted to continue to deliver on what matters most for Victorians.