Paramedic practitioners in Victoria will now be able to deliver urgent care and prescribed scheduled medicines following the passing of the Allan Government’s Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024.
The passing of the Bill means Victorian paramedic practitioners will be able to assess, diagnose and treat patients in the field, make clinical decisions and ultimately take the pressure off emergency departments.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Victoria Branch, welcomes the new laws with Victoria Branch President George Tambassis saying the passing of the Bill is “another important step towards improved access to healthcare for patients in Victoria”.
These new laws follow the successful Victorian Community Pharmacist Statewide Pilot (the Pilot), which has been extended until 30 June 2025.
The Pilot has allowed more than 20,000 Victorian patients to receive treatment at their local community pharmacy for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), oral contraceptive resupply, shingles and flare-ups of mild plaque psoriasis, and travel health vaccinations.
Advocating for health access equality, Mr Tambassis says “the Pilot is an important first step for community pharmacists to deliver more for Victorian patients”.
“Victorian patients should be able to access the same services that are already available at community pharmacies in other states and territories,” he says.
“The Guild is committed to actively working with the Allan Government to enable pharmacists to practice at their full scope and provide prescribing and clinical services to patients for 24 everyday health conditions, including acute nausea and vomiting, hay fever, asthma, acute wound management, gastro-oesophageal reflux and more.”
The Guild emphasises that enabling pharmacists to practice to full scope would not only align with the expanded role of paramedic practitioners but also build on Victoria’s 2024 reforms, which allow authorised midwives to prescribe Schedule 2, 3, 4, and 8 medicines within their full scope of practice.
“Enabling a range of healthcare professionals – paramedics, midwives and community pharmacists – to do more for patients will significantly enhance healthcare outcomes for Victorians while taking pressure off our healthcare system,” says Mr Tambassis.
