DOCTORS' surgeries in York and North Yorkshire are to be part of a new scheme to bring expert pharmacists into their practices.

Patients will be able to talk to a clinical pharmacist when they visit their GP at practices in York, Scarborough and Ryedale thanks to £31 million in funding from NHS England.

The plan is being hailed as a crucial tool in relieving the pressure on stretched GPs, and helping ease the nationwide shortage of front-line doctors.

Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said: "Joint working between pharmacists and GPs has the potential to have major benefits for both patients and clinical professionals. This pilot will be a win-win for GPs, pharmacists and patients.

"By testing these new ways of working across professional boundaries we are taking another step forward to relieving some of the pressure that GPs are clearly under and ensuring patients see the health professional that best suits their needs."

It was today revealed that 73 applications covering 698 practices, including 203 in the North, will receive a share of the funding, and a total of 403 new clinical pharmacists will be recruited.

They will give patients extra help to manage long-term conditions, as well as specific advice for people with multiple medications and more access to clinical advice on treatments.

Recruitment of pharmacists for the three-year initiative, which was announced in July, will begin immediately and the pharmacists will be in the new jobs from next Spring with the Government money covering part of their wages for the first three years.

Professor Ian Cumming, chief executive of Health Education England, added: "Pharmacists are key to effective multi-disciplinary teams in GP practices and to the delivery of high quality patient care in a modern primary care environment."

The £31 million in funding is more than double the original allocation and NHS England decided to up the money available for the pilot scheme because of the "overwhelmingly positive" response from GPs.

Sandra Gidley Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society English Board, said: "This extra investment of £16m in the pilot is fantastic news. It’s a real vote of confidence in the pharmacy profession and a huge step towards the integration of pharmacists into primary care.

"NHS England’s support in evolving the role of the practice pharmacist will prove enormously valuable to both patients and other clinicians. More patients will see at first-hand the difference a practice pharmacist can make to their health and more GPs will come to regard them as an essential part of the multidisciplinary team in their practice."