Referrals to the Pharmacy First service from general practice resulting in a consultation fell by 24% between May 2024 and May this year, data obtained by C+D via a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed.
NHS England (NHSE) shared a monthly breakdown of the consultation data which highlighted that, among other things, referral rates were around 10% to 25% lower this spring than they were last year, when the service was first launched.
Read more: Quarter of GPs still not referring any patients to Pharmacy First
Comparing figures from each month between February and May 2024 to data from this year, C+D found that general practice referral rates fell by 15%, 12%, 16% and 24%, respectively.
In February 2024 – the first full month Pharmacy First was offered – there were 118,142 consultations delivered that were referred from general practice, but this dropped to 100,229 in February 2025.
And similarly, May 2024 saw 104,014 referrals from general practice to Pharmacy First, but this dropped to 78,840 in May this year.
Read more: Pharmacy First: Government ‘acting on’ GP refusal to engage
There were also noticeable variations between referral rates in winter and summer months.
NHSE stressed that “it is important to note that figures are affected by seasonal variation and patient demand around...school and public holidays”.
For example, March 2024 saw 117,238 consultations compared with 70,174 in August of the same year.
And in 2025, there were 104,038 referrals in January but only 78,840 in May.
GP participation rates
The data also revealed that the number of individual GP practices making at least one referral to the Pharmacy First service that resulted in a consultation slightly decreased between May 2024 and 2025, dropping by 4% from 4,764 to 4,578.
Looking at February and March in both years, however, this figure saw a slight increase, rising by 3% and 1% respectively.
Read more: Third of public still ‘unaware’ of Pharmacy First service
According to NHSE, the number of open general practices in England between February 2024 and May 2025 steadily dropped from 6,338 to 6,237.
It told C+D that “6,224 practices have made one or more referrals that resulted in a consultation with one or more of the Pharmacy First services between February 1 2024 and May 31 2025”.
NHSE told C+D that the data it receives “relates to consultations that have taken place in community pharmacy”, adding that it does “not receive any information about referrals that are made but do not result in a consultation”.
This could be due to a patient declining the referral or failing to attend a scheduled appointment at the pharmacy, or because they were not eligible for the service, it added.
Supporting “increased referrals”
When asked what NHSE is doing to get more GP surgeries to refer patients to Pharmacy First, it told C+D that it has “been addressing key factors to support increased referrals from general practice” to the service.
This includes “continuing to promote the value of GP surgeries making formal referrals into the NHS Pharmacy First Service and the digital enablement that supports the operational delivery”, it said.
“NHSE has also worked closely with integrated care boards (ICBs) to support local action and provided funding for the community pharmacy primary care network (PCN) engagement lead post in each ICB,” it added.
Meanwhile, a Healthwatch poll on the Pharmacy First service of over 7,000 people in England this week (June 30) revealed that less than half of respondents (44%) had visited their pharmacy for help with one of the conditions covered by the service in the last year.
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And it showed that nearly three in ten (29%) people who said they were “unlikely to use pharmacy” for the seven conditions “were not aware that pharmacies can provide treatment and advice for them”.
But despite this, the poll highlighted the “strong public appetite for expanding the scheme”, with 76% of respondents saying they were comfortable discussing their health with pharmacists.
Teething problems
It comes after pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock revealed in May that one in four GP practices do not refer a single patient to the Pharmacy First service each month.
And health minister Baroness Meron said in January that the government was “aware” of reports that some GPs are “unwilling to direct patients” to Pharmacy First.
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“We are acting on” this issue and “will continue to keep it under review”, she said at the time, adding that “NHSE is working closely with ICBs, GPs and the community pharmacy sector to improve referrals”.
In the same month, MPs also called for “financial incentives” to be introduced to encourage GPs to “work with pharmacies” and engage with Pharmacy First.
