Pharmacy First service spec and pathways published

Following agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Community Pharmacy England, the service specification for the Pharmacy First service, which is due to commence at the end of January 2024, has been published.

Alongside the service specification, the clinical pathways for the seven conditions which will be included in the service have also been published.

The new Pharmacy First service will include these seven conditions, alongside the current elements of the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service – minor illness consultations and urgent supply of medicines, for people referred to the pharmacy.

Download the service specification and clinical pathways

The final outstanding set of documentation for the new service are the 23 patient group directions (PGD) and one protocol which will be used to authorise supply of medicines at NHS expense, where clinically appropriate, following a consultation for one of the seven conditions. These documents are expected to be published in draft form later this week.

All of these documents will be essential reading for pharmacy owners and pharmacists who will be providing the service.

We will be publishing more guidance on the service and resources for pharmacy owners and their teams over the next few weeks.

Visit our Pharmacy First service webpage

We will also, shortly, be publishing the details of a series of webinars on the services and service changes announced following the Recovery Plan negotiations, which we are organising with the support of NHS England and CPPE.