The expansion of Pharmacy First must go “further and faster to relieve growing pressure on urgent care”, the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) has said.
In a report published today, the body said community pharmacists “should be empowered to treat a much wider range of urgent care conditions through Pharmacy First”, and urged policymakers and the NHS to “harness independent prescribing (IP) to do this”.
The report outlined three initial areas to focus on expanding under the service: adult respiratory tract infections, acute dermatology conditions and migraine and acute headache.
“Ready-made solution”
The CCA said the call comes “as urgent and emergency care demand continues to rise”, with A&E attendance up 30% in just a decade.
“Pharmacy First provides a ready-made solution to help meet this demand,” it added.
The body referenced the success of Pharmacy First in Wales, which covers more conditions and saw community pharmacies deliver more than twice as many consultations per head in 2024/25 than England’s service.
Read more: Pharmacy First used by over a third of people in Scotland
It also noted that Pharmacy First’s expansion in England would “improve access in deprived areas, where healthcare need is highest”.
“Nearly twice as many consultations through existing Pharmacy First clinical pathways are delivered in the most deprived communities compared with the least deprived,” it added.
Read more: Decline in NHS 111 calls ‘could be linked’ to Pharmacy First, says CQC
As well as calling on policymakers to expand Pharmacy First through IP, the CCA urged them to “accelerate IP capacity, including funding designated prescribing practitioner provision and widening access to funded training”.
And it called for improvements to digital integration, including access to the Single Patient Record.
The report was produced as part of a collaboration between the CCA, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), Pharmacy in Practice and Pfizer.
“Turbocharge Pharmacy First”
CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said there is a “huge opportunity” within community pharmacy to address growing demand for urgent care.
He said “delivering much greater benefits for patients and the NHS requires moving from pockets of activity to care at scale” and “expanding Pharmacy First provides the opportunity to do that”.
Read more: Pharmacy services are NHS ‘blind spot’ in rural areas, report warns
And NPA chief executive Henry Gregg agreed that there is a “huge amount of untapped potential in the Pharmacy First programme”.
“In Scotland, a patient can be treated for around 30 different ailments at their pharmacy, with over a third of the population accessing Pharmacy First last year,” he said.
He added that with “more and more prescribing pharmacists coming into community pharmacy, the NHS should turbocharge Pharmacy First so it can reach its full potential”.
Read more: CPE has ‘severe reservations’ about IP funding, says chief executive
It comes after data published by Public Health Scotland last month revealed that 36% of the Scottish population used Pharmacy First Scotland at least once between last April and this March.
And it follows a Care Quality Commission report last month saying that a decrease in NHS 111 calls “could be linked partly” to the introduction of Pharmacy First in January 2024.
