NHS England announce the new Pharmacy First prescribing pathways
In a media release issued today, DHSC and NHS England have formally announced the final choice of the five new prescribing clinical pathways which will be added to the Pharmacy First service this autumn. They are:
- Acute otitis externa – for adults aged 18 years and over
- Seasonal allergic rhinitis – for children aged 4-11 years
- Mild to moderate acne – for young people
- Migraine – low frequency, episodic, adults aged 18-64 years
- Mild skin and soft tissue infections and scabies
Many pharmacy owners will already be aware of this final list of pathways, as last month NHS England asked ICBs to communicate information to pharmacy owners about the new pathways and the wider introduction of prescribing into the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).
Today’s formal announcement follows the agreement to add up to five new prescribing pathways in the CPCF 2026/27 settlement. Further details on the pathways and the wider addition of prescribing into the CPCF will be published by DHSC and NHS England shortly.
You can read more about the introduction of prescribing on our Prescribing within the CPCF webpage.
Commenting on the announcement, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England said:
“The expansion of Pharmacy First to incorporate prescribing is a strategically important development for community pharmacy and could be a gateway to a significantly expanded role for the sector.
“But if prescribing is to succeed at scale, it must be backed by sufficient investment. Pharmacy owners will need sustainable funding to make prescribing services viable and ensure they can be delivered safely and effectively for patients. Without that support, there is a real risk that the full benefits of this landmark development will not be realised.”
As we said at the time of the announcement of the 2026/27 settlement, despite our acceptance of the final CPCF offer, we are not persuaded that sufficient investment is being made to enable the full and effective introduction of prescribing, given the workload, enhanced clinical responsibility, clinical governance and infrastructure requirements that it will entail.
It will be down to pharmacy owners, cognisant of the full operational and governance requirements that will apply to the introduction of prescribing into the CPCF, to decide on an individual basis whether it makes commercial sense for their business or whether they will instead prioritise the use of IP skills elsewhere in their business.
Pharmacy owners should note that more guidance and documentation related to the introduction of prescribing into the CPCF is still to be published by DHSC and NHS England. The currently available information and links to various documents can be found on the following webpage, alongside further information on our view on these developments.
