The SA Government should let pharmacists prescribe antibiotics for UTIs “as soon as possible” without a trial or pilot program, a parliamentary committee has declared.

The committee, led by Labor MP Jayne Stinson, also called on the government to “consider” Queensland’s expanded pharmacy prescribing pilot — which will let pharmacists across the state treat 17 conditions — “and the appropriateness of implementation in SA”. 

Its proposed UTI prescribing model would involve patients paying pharmacists $20 for a consultation, with trimethoprim, cefalexin and nitrofurantoin the treatment options.

This was despite the SA Expert Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, part of SA Health, warning that pharmacists should be restricted to trimethoprim to protect against antimicrobial resistance.