Vaccines for illnesses such as meningococcal disease, measles and whooping cough will be available in WA pharmacies from today under a move to expand services which has angered doctors.
Pharmacists who complete an online course will now be eligible to provide "low-risk vaccines" to people over the age of 16, who would previously have had to attend a GP.
About 250 pharmacies are believed to already have the appropriate training, with the rest expected to undertake the course by the end of October.
The Government said the move brought WA into line with other states and would boost immunisation rates.
"All it is doing is providing greater access to those over 16 to these vaccines," chief health officer Andy Robertson said.
"We are very confident that they [pharmacists] have the training required to give these vaccines safely.
"They are low-risk vaccines and high-risk vaccines will continue to be provided by doctors."
'Stick to what you do best': AMA
But the move has prompted concern from the Australian Medical Association (AMA), which has long fought efforts by pharmacists to expand the scope of health services they can provide.
"We do not see the police trying to fight fires and we do not see firefighters trying to arrest people," AMA WA president Andrew Miller said.
"This is about sticking to the things you are best trained and qualified to do.
"Pharmacists are qualified to deliver this service but they are not the best qualified to deliver the service."
Pharmacy Guild WA president Andrew Ngeow said the health benefits of the decision were clear.
"If this saves even one life that is a good thing and immunisation is a way of saving lives," he said.
Further pharmacy expansion on the cards
The expansion of the pharmacy immunisation program follows a Health Department report that floated a dramatic increase in the scope of their services, such as issuing repeat prescriptions for chronic illnesses.
That report also raised the prospect of pharmacists being given responsibilities in areas including mental health support and management of chronic illnesses and hospital discharge.
Health Minister Roger Cook strongly indicated some of those proposals would proceed.
"Some of those are quite common sense and we would be very keen to embrace them," Mr Cook said.
"But there are other recommendations that are challenging so we will take a close look at them and proceed carefully."
But the AMA, which has previously described that report as a "wish list for pharmacists who want to be doctors", described this approach as concerning.
"It is not all about convenience, it is about getting the best healthcare available for your family," Dr Miller said.
"In a first-world system, that involves seeing a general practitioner."
