The scope of conditions treated through Pharmacy First should be expanded, a health watchdog has said.
In an annual report published last week, Healthwatch England called on the government and the NHS to “take several steps” to see the pharmacy sector “play a bigger role in healthcare”.
Read more: Government wants pharmacies to be a ‘first point of contact’
It said there needs to be “further targeted communication to keep raising awareness of the Pharmacy First”, and patients who use the scheme “should be involved in its evaluation”.
“Over time the scheme should expand to cover more conditions,” it added.
Read more: Nearly 8% of brick-and-mortar pharmacies closed in five years
Healthwatch also urged decision makers to “review medication shortages and take action to keep people informed”.
“Steps such as improving awareness of prescription prepayment certificates will also help tackle the cost-of-living issues patients face,” it said.
Read more: NPA calls for ‘emergency’ £52m payment for pharmacies
It added that “to reduce the impact of pharmacy closures”, it is “vital that people are notified of closures and contingency plans are in place”.
But it noted that pharmacy teams “also need better support”, such as “improved IT systems, more funding, action on workforce shortages and support with pharmacy premises”.
Public attitudes
Healthwatch said its survey on attitudes to community pharmacies showed that 72% of people had used one in the previous three months, while just 18% had used an online pharmacy.
It found that people “appreciate how easy it is to get to community pharmacies and how quickly they can be seen”.
Read more: Some 90% of people ‘satisfied’ with pharmacy NHS services
“Even before Pharmacy First started, many were open to visiting a pharmacy for help with the conditions the scheme covers,” it said.
It added that people “are also open to using pharmacies rather than GPs more generally, particularly for vaccinations and skin care” - but said this “wasn’t the case for everyone”, as some “were unaware of the services pharmacies could offer”.
Read more: Asda launches campaign to raise Pharmacy First awareness
The watchdog also said that a year after Pharmacy First was introduced, its research “found that people liked many aspects of the service”, with 86% reporting “a positive experience of visiting their pharmacy for support with one of the conditions covered by the scheme”.
But it noted that “public awareness of the scheme could be improved”, and that there were “variable levels of awareness” across the country, from 39% in Halton to 72% in Stockton-on-Tees.
Closures
According to research conducted by Healthwatch in 2023, 436 pharmacies closed permanently in England that year - the equivalent of more than eight pharmacies closing per week.
There were also 13,863 recorded instances of temporary closure, it said. This amounted to a loss of 46,823 hours, or 5,852 standard pharmacy working days.
Read more: Pharmacy First adverts saw small uptick in public ‘intention to use’
It added that there is “significant variation in the rate of permanent pharmacy closures” across integrated care boards (ICBs), with some seeing only 1% of pharmacies close permanently, while one saw as many as 11%.
And it noted that there were “higher rates of both permanent and temporary closure in rural areas, areas with older populations and areas that had fewer GPs per head of population”.
“The main reason for temporary pharmacy closures across England is a lack of available staff,” it said.
Read more: Scope of Pharmacy First conditions ‘under review’, Kinnock says
It comes after pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock revealed last month that a Pharmacy First campaign run from November to December 2024 saw the public’s “intention to use” the service rise from 32% to 37%.
And it follows Kinnock telling parliament that NHS England will keep the scope of services offered through Pharmacy First “under review”.
