Fri 7 February 2025
Hospital funding boost must come with hospital pharmacy workforce investment
Hospital pharmacists are critical to cutting waiting lists, reducing ED waiting times and managing ramping
Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) welcomes today’s announcement from the Albanese Labor Government of a $1.7 billion boost for hospitals and health services, urging states and territories to direct a portion of the funding to bolster the essential hospital pharmacy workforce.
AdPha President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says with the funding aimed at helping ‘cut wait lists, reducing waiting times in emergency rooms and managing ramping’, it is vital hospital pharmacists are included in the funding pool.
‘AdPha welcomes the government's decision to allocate much-needed additional funding to Australia’s struggling public hospital system.
‘Enhancing the patient care provided by hospital pharmacists is essential to achieving the goals outlined in today’s funding announcement.
‘For example, surgical and perioperative pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring safer transitions of care while improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of medicine use. By conducting accurate medication histories and reconciliations, they help reduce medicine wastage, limit medication errors, and prevent avoidable adverse events—ultimately making surgery safer and more efficient.
‘Emergency pharmacists are equally vital in improving patient flow, facilitating faster admissions to wards, and ensuring safer discharges back into the community.
Mr Simpson says as more and more Australians are admitted to hospitals each year, the role of hospital pharmacists in supporting safer patient discharges and transitions of care becomes even more vital.
‘There are over 7 million public hospital admissions each year, comprised of just under 4 million same-day admissions and just over 3 million overnight admissions.
‘Hospital pharmacists are the last healthcare professional a patient sees before leaving the hospital, and the hospital pharmacy is typically the final stop on their hospital journey.
‘Hospital pharmacists are also the stewards of one-quarter of all PBS expenditure which goes through hospitals.
‘Additional funding will provide critical financial support for hospital pharmacy training programs - such as AdPha’s two-year Pharmacy Resident Training Program - helping address ongoing workforce shortages while ensuring high-quality, consistent patient care across all healthcare settings.
‘Ensuring hospital pharmacy workforce sustainability will be essential to maintaining safe and high-quality hospital services, and will support achievement of the forthcoming National Allied Health Workforce Strategy.
‘Hospital pharmacists are an integral part of interdisciplinary healthcare teams, and continued financial support is essential to ensuring patients receive timely, high-quality care without unnecessary delays.’