Pharmacists will be drafted into GP practices to help ease pressure and combat a shortage of family doctors , under plans to be unveiled today . The proposals could see pharmacists stationed in surgeries to help meet the day-to-day needs of patients with long-term conditions , including diabetes and asthma . Instead of seeing a GP , those patients could be given an appointment with a pharmacist . They would also liaise with hospitals , community pharmacists and care homes to ensure patients received seamless care . Experts said the move would cut the time patients have to wait for appointments , while also addressing the chronic shortage of GPs at a time when there is an oversupply of pharmacists . Pharmacists are to be drafted into GP practices to help ease pressure and combat a shortage of family doctors in the NHS , under new plans . Many GP surgeries already work closely with pharmacists , and the proposals would see them working as part of the general team , in a similar way to practice nurses , the Royal College of General Practitioners ( RCGP ) said . Maureen Baker , chairwoman of the RCGP , said a 'hidden army ' of pharmacists could provide the solution to the pressures facing family doctors . She said : 'Waiting times for a GP appointment are now a national talking point - and a national cause for concern , not least amongst GPs themselves . 'But , even if we were to get an urgent influx of extra funding and more GPs , we could not turn around the situation overnight due to the length of time it takes to train a GP . 'Yet we already have a 'hidden army ' of highly trained pharmacists who could provide a solution . 'Practice-based pharmacists , working as part of the clinical team , would relieve the pressure on GPs and make a huge difference to patient care . 'This is n't about having a pharmacy premises within a surgery , but about making full use of the pharmacist 's clinical skills to help patients and the overstretched GP workforce . ' GP surgeries are predicted to make 370 million patient consultations this year - 70 million more than five years ago . An ageing population and an increase in those patients needing treatment for long-term and complex conditions , including diabetes and heart disease , is , in part , the cause of the mounting pressure . The RCGP said according to their research , there will be 67 million occasions when patients will have to wait a week or longer to see a GP or practice nurse this year . Pharmacists train for five years , one year less than a doctor and a year more than a nurse . As such , the RCGP , which is being backed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society , has argued they are ideally placed to treat patients directly within GP practices . The RCGP is calling for general practice funding to be increased to 11 per cent of the NHS budget by 2017 - currently it stands at just over eight per cent . Furthermore , the College is calling for 8,000 more GPs in England by the end of the next Parliament . David Branford , chairman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society English board , said : 'General practice is the foundation of the NHS but it needs proper resourcing and support . Experts said the move would cut the times patients have to wait for appointments , while also addressing the chronic shortage of GPs at a time when there is an oversupply of pharmacists . 'Having a pharmacist as part of the team can make a huge difference to both patients and clinical colleagues . 'Pharmacists should be working in GP practices all over the country . It 's a win-win situation for everyone concerned . 'We must be more strategic and change the services on offer to make best use of the NHS workforce . 'Patients deserve access to high quality care and services wherever they live and pharmacists are central to providing this . ' Dr Chaand Nagpaul , GP committee chairman at the British Medical Association , said : 'Placing more pharmacists into GP practice teams is a move the BMA has been advocating for some time . 'This proposal has the potential to improve the skills mix in local GP services and raise the number of healthcare professionals on hand to provide help to patients . 'This will be a welcome step forward , given that GP practices are currently under unprecedented strain from rising patient demand and falling resources . 'The implementation of this programme will be key . For it to work properly , there will need to be additional resources to enable enough pharmacists to be placed in GP surgeries . ' A further limiting factor at present is that many GP practices are struggling because their buildings are inadequate or do n't have space to expand staffing . '
Pharmacists could be stationed in GP surgeries to help treat patients . Those with long - term diseases like diabetes and diabetes could benefit . There is currently a shortage of GPs but an oversupply of patients . doctors say the move would cut patient waiting times for appointments .