The RACGP has called for a trial allowing pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics be put on hold until a national review on resistance is complete.

The college’s Queensland chair Dr Bruce Willett says the state government should wait until the review — titled Australia’s Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2020 and Beyond — has been handed down before taking any more steps to conduct the trial. 

The call comes three months after the Queensland Government said it was preparing to launch a state-wide pilot program to allow pharmacists to provide antibiotics for UTIs without a current prescription and the contraceptive pill.

The move came out of an inquiry into pharmacy held in the state last year.