According to the survey, which ran between October and December last year, half (53%) of the 180 second or non-manager community pharmacists that responded rated their relationship between six and 10 – where one is “poor” and 10 deemed “excellent”.

Contractors were the most positive about their GP relationship, with 70% of the 43 respondents scoring it six or above.

They were closely followed by community pharmacy branch managers: 68% of the 336 respondents gave their relationship a similar rating.

Of the three groups, branch managers were most likely to give their relationship a 10 out of 10 "excellent" rating.

2% of pharmacists give GP relationship the lowest rating

Only 2% of each of the groups branded their relationship with the lowest "poor" rating.

Amanda Smith, pharmacist and manager of Heath Pharmacy in Halifax, was positive about her relationship with her local GP, rating it “an eight or a nine”.

"I find that everyone generally tries to work together to improve patient care," she told C+D.

Zohib Sheikh, a locum pharmacist primarily based in Surrey, said the onus is on pharmacists to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with their local GPs.

“I think it depends on the individual. I knew all the local surgeries [very] well as a pre-reg," he told C+D.

Read more about how the relationship between pharmacy and general practice has changed over the years here.

Results: How would you rate your relationship with your local GP?