Reflections on Pharmacy First: One Year On

Today (Friday 31st January) marks one year since the NHS Pharmacy First service was launched, and Community Pharmacy England is once again applauding the amazing work that has been done by everyone in the sector to get this service off the ground.

We are continuing to work hard to resolve some of the issues limiting the service – including the inadequate public promotion of the service, IT challenges, and patchy referral rates – alongside critical work on the wider funding crisis.

But despite these challenges, almost two million Pharmacy First consultations have now been delivered, and today, as the service reaches its first birthday, a group of MPs, think tanks, pharmacists and charities have shared their messages for the sector, and public.

The video messages show once again the ever-growing support for community pharmacy, with advocates for the sector talking about the need for sustainable funding – as well as the very positive impact that Pharmacy First has already had, and their hopes for what can be achieved in the future.

Video messages

Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, has recorded a message for pharmacy owners:

Community Pharmacy England has also published video messages from pharmacists and advocates for the sector, giving their reflections on Pharmacy First. We will be sharing these short videos on social media and you can watch all the messages here:

Pharmacy First – Reflections one year on

Community Pharmacy England will continue to work closely with these and other advocates to help build community pharmacy’s future, making the case for investment and support, and cementing its integral role in primary care.

We have also worked with other national pharmacy bodies on a joint press release about the service – with all bodies recognising the enormous efforts of pharmacy teams, as well as the need to iron out issues and to sustainably fund the sector.

The journey so far

The launch of Pharmacy First was a pivotal moment for the community pharmacy sector, but it hasn’t been an easy journey for pharmacies.

The majority (around 98%) of community pharmacies have signed up to provide Pharmacy First, demonstrating the value and commitment of our sector to patients and the public. Pharmacy teams across the country have put in an incredible amount of work to get the service up and running, delivering nearly two million consultations in the past year despite several bumps along the way.

Over the past 12 months, IT glitches, a lacklustre NHS marketing campaign and low GP referral rates have led to difficulties reaching monthly payment thresholds. Our 2024 Pharmacy Advice Audit found that every week there are nearly 150,000 informal GPs and NHS 111 referrals that could have been made not Pharmacy First, effectively removing more than £115 million worth of funding from the pharmacy network.

But pharmacy teams have navigated their way through many of these obstacles, and built a solid foundation from which Pharmacy First can grow. Taken alongside the ongoing financial and operational pressures that pharmacies are facing, this makes the service’s success a phenomenal achievement.

Pharmacies have lots of supporters who want Pharmacy First to grow – as demonstrated in the video messages we have received – and Community Pharmacy England will continue to work closely with them to help cement pharmacy’s integral role in primary care.

Looking ahead

Community Pharmacy England wants to develop Pharmacy First in the future, making the most of the expertise in pharmacy to do more for the benefit of patients, the public and the NHS. This is in line with the views of pharmacy owners who repeatedly expressed support for a Pharmacy First service. Our September 2024 Committee poll found that two-thirds of pharmacy owners felt overly restricted by the current gateway points in the clinical pathways.

We have long been a proponent of building on Pharmacy First, with proposals to add more clinical pathways and incorporate independent prescribing within the service being key elements of our submission to the 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS. However, this would only be achievable by first Government and the NHS committing to financial stabilisation of the sector.

We believe that early steps towards more substantial development of Pharmacy First should be:

  • Running a much bigger, ongoing public awareness campaign;
  • Introducing measures to increase referral rates from general practices and NHS 111; and
  • Expanding the walk-in element to all parts of the service.

Making the most of Pharmacy First

Community Pharmacy England has a wide range of resources available to support delivery of the service including on: