Some 73% of people would choose to visit a pharmacy instead of their GP, compared with two to three years ago, a Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) survey has shown.
CPNI said the survey of 2,615 patients between March 23 and April 30 also found that 89% had “contacted or visited their pharmacy at least once in the previous two months”, while just 65% had visited their GP.
The findings were highlighted at a recent meeting of the All-Party Group on Community Pharmacy, where CPNI discussed how community pharmacy “can play a significantly expanded role in the Neighbourhood Model”.
“Strong public support”
CPNI said the survey “found strong public support for expanding community pharmacy services”, with 91% of people approving of community pharmacists “managing and prescribing for more minor conditions instead of GP visits”.
It added that 92% of respondents supported pharmacies taking on new services, including “health screening, long-term condition reviews, vaccinations, medication reviews and weight management support.
The body highlighted that findings from the survey also showed the “scale of pressure currently facing the sector”, including “medicines supply disruption and rising drug price issues”.
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It revealed that in winter 2025/26 alone, Pharmacy First consultations “increased by almost 8% to more than 100,000 consultations”.
Over 22.5 million prescriptions were dispensed over the same period, it said, while Emergency Supply Service activity rose by 20%.
And a total of 68,501 flu and Covid vaccinations were delivered by community pharmacies during winter, with more than 47,000 of these being walk-in vaccinations.
“Untapped potential”
Its chief executive Gerard Greene said “community pharmacy is already delivering frontline healthcare in every community across Northern Ireland, but there remains significant untapped potential to do more”.
He warned that pharmacies “cannot continue absorbing increasing levels of pressure without a sustainable long-term funding framework that properly stabilises, supports and values the role they are already playing”.
“Community pharmacies are ready to deliver more through Pharmacy First services, independent prescribing and enhanced community-based care, but stabilisation must come first,” he added.
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It comes after the Northern Irish government announced that paper prescriptions are to become “a thing of the past” as part of a £42m investment in the ePharmacy Primary Care Digital Reform Programme.
And it follows C+D exclusively revealing in May that 127 Northern Irish pharmacies have signed up to the Daffodil palliative care standards since the scheme’s launch in the country last year.
