The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) is urging pharmacy teams across England to record the informal healthcare advice they give over the course of a single day – or until 20 informal consultations are reached – to help provide a “temperature check” on the sector.

The results of the third “advice audit” must be submitted by 11.59pm on Friday, March 11.

PSNC is hoping to collate evidence from more than half of the sector to help with negotiations for the fourth year of the five-year funding contract, director of funding Mike Dent explained.

Last year’s advice audit revealed that pharmacies in England provide as many as 58 million free consultations a year, highlighting the full scale of informal consultations happening across the sector during the pandemic.

These results “were also critical in helping to persuade MPs to support our case for COVID-19 costs”, PSNC said.

Mr Dent continued: “Findings of our recent pressures survey confirm that the majority of pharmacies are experiencing staffing shortages and that workload pressures are preventing them from doing everything that they want to for patients.

“Everybody in pharmacy knows all of this, but we also need to prove it to policymakers…[with] hard evidence backed up by data.”

Use this template to complete the advice audit.

Last month, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association revealed there had been a “massive drop” in safe staffing levels in pharmacies during 2021.