New data from NHS Digital has revealed the number of pharmacists working in general practice climbed by a quarter last year.
The primary care workforce data, which was published last week (February 15), showed that in December there were 6,874 full-time equivalent pharmacists working in general practices and PCNs.
NHS digital said this number is up 24.5% from December 2023, when there were 5,522 GP and PCN pharmacists.
Read more: ‘Staggering’ £387 million spent on GP pharmacist recruitment via ARRS
This is a 6.6 percentage point increase on the previous year – between December 2023-22 the number of GP and PCN pharmacists increased by 17.9%.
The number of pharmacy technicians in PCNs and GPs also saw a staggering increase last year, jumping from 1,633 in December 2022 to 2,292 in December 2023 – a 40.4% increase.
“Robbing Peter to pay Paul”
In October, former pharmacy minister Neil O’Brien said 46% of ARRS funding had been spent on the recruitment of “clinical pharmacists”.
Chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) Malcolm Harrison deemed the £387m “and counting” spent on pharmacist ARRS recruitment a “staggering amount of money that has directly led to the shortfall of community pharmacists in England”.
“Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a short-sighted strategy,” he warned.
Read more: PDA warns of 'inadequate’ support and unsafe workloads for GP pharmacists
But Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA) president Dr Graham Stretch stressed that “whilst all working in primary care would support a fair contract for community pharmacy, the £387 million is part of GP contract funding” and not “separate community pharmacy contractual negotiations”.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) revealed concerns about “inadequate” training, time pressures, workload and pay from its members working in general practice.
