NHS England (NHSE) yesterday (October 30) announced that discussions with CPE about a “national service” for community pharmacy prescribing will begin next April.
In a letter to integrated care boards (ICBs), NHSE set out the “next steps” to be taken after the community pharmacy independent prescribing (IP) pathfinder programme comes to an end on December 31.
Read more: NHSE: ICBs to ‘introduce’ pharmacy prescribing services in 2026/27
NHSE “will continue to provide programme support to ICBs who wish to continue activity during the transition period until the end of March 2026”, it said.
ICBs are “encouraged” to continue providing the service during the transition “where possible” and should prioritise “active pharmacy sites with patient consultation activity”, with those continuing to receive a “payment of £1,500 per pathfinder site”, it added.
“National evaluation”
From April 2026 onwards, NHSE will use learnings from the programme to “inform any potential service models where prescribing could be part of national community pharmacy services”, it said.
“NHSE will consult with CPE to determine what will form any part of a national service offer,” it added.
Read more: Sector ‘not ready’ for IP revolution, IPA board member warns
The letter told ICBs that the commissioner will publish a “national evaluation” of the pathfinder programme along with learnings from “focus groups and stakeholder engagement”.
NHSE will also “set out a framework for commissioners to support the governance and assurance of prescribing in community pharmacy”, it added.
And it noted that plans for 2026/27 and beyond will be shared with regional and system leaders “subject to confirmation of spending review allocations”.
Sector “not ready”
It comes after NHSE last week instructed ICBs to introduce prescribing services in pharmacies next year.
Its new planning framework for 2026/27 to 2028/29 said that ICBs “must introduce prescribing-based services into community pharmacies during 2026/27” to “support primary care access and increase the role of community pharmacy”.
Read more: ‘Game-changer’: Boots sets out ‘ambition’ for IP in every store
And earlier this month, Boots’ director of pharmacy growth told delegates at the Pharmacy Show that the chain’s “ambition” is to have independent prescribers in all of its stores “in the coming years”.
Meanwhile, Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) board member Ian Strachan told delegates at another Pharmacy Show talk that the sector is not ready for the “IP revolution”.
“Integration can only go at the speed of trust,” he said at the time, adding that multidisciplinary working is “not there” in the wider NHS.
