“Ministers have now decided that they intend to reduce the October threshold for the Pharmacy First service to 20, in light of the concerns” raised by Community Pharmacy England (CPE), it today (September 30) announced.

From tomorrow (October 1), the threshold had been set to climb from 20 to 30 – meaning that pharmacies delivering the service would have to complete a minimum of 20 consultations in order to qualify for a fixed monthly payment of £1,000.

“It is great that ministers have responded to our concerns about another increase to the Pharmacy First payment threshold,” CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said.

Read more: UPDATED: August Pharmacy First consultation threshold dropped to 15

“This decision will save many community pharmacies from missing out on a vital payment this month,” she added.

“It is encouraging that the new Government has now acted twice to support community pharmacies struggling to meet Pharmacy First targets that were insisted on by the previous administration,” she said.

The Pharmacy First consultation threshold for August was also reduced from 20 to 15 at the end of July.

Recommencing negotiations “soon”

“We will continue to monitor the service data and, if needed, make further representations to ministers about future months,” Morrison added.

“We also need to find a longer-term solution to this, which means NHS England (NHSE) marketing Pharmacy First effectively and ensuring that GPs are actively referring people to the service,” she said.

Read more: Top pharmacies suspended from Pharmacy First scheme

Morrison added that CPE has “been working hard to build constructive relationships with the new health ministerial team and [looks] forward to recommencing negotiations on the 2024/25 CPCF very soon”.

Meanwhile, C+D last week revealed that four pharmacies that have provided some of the highest numbers of Pharmacy First consultations have been suspended from the scheme.

The four suspended pharmacies were Optipharm, Overton & Pickup, Meacher, Higgins & Thomas, and Cavendish.

Read more: Revealed: The top ten Pharmacy First minor illness service providers

And in August, C+D revealed the inside workings of Optipharm, which topped the tables for the highest number of Pharmacy First consultations with over 3,000 for minor illness referrals completed in April.

According to the latest NHS dispensing data, the average for all pharmacies in England in June was 11 minor illness referral consultations.