The Welsh government has revealed that “two new national services to treat sore throats and urinary tract infections (UTIs)” will be available in “most community pharmacies” later this year.
It is “investing an extra £6 million in community pharmacies to make the sore throat test and treat (STTT) and the UTI services available in 99% of pharmacies ahead of the winter”, it said yesterday (May 1).
Pharmacies will receive this funding through “an increase in practice payments equivalent to an additional 30p per prescription item dispensed in January, February and March 2025”, the government said in a letter to contractors last month (April 2).
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The services will provide treatments “without a prescription” and will be “available nationally” from June 4 for sore throat treatments and October 1 for UTIs.
“The rollout of the services will help to give people access to free NHS care without a GP appointment and ensure the NHS maximises the skills and expertise of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,” the government said.
It comes after last month’s letter first informed pharmacies that the “Welsh government will provide additional non-recurrent funding to the value of £6m as a stability payment for community pharmacy contractors in 2024/25”.
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In return for the investment, Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) agreed that the “STTT service and UTI service will be a mandatory component of the common ailments service (CAS) with all contractors registered to deliver both” later this year, it said.
“Those pharmacies that are not registered to deliver [them]...will be unable to provide CAS” after the given dates, it added.
A government spokesperson clarified that while the CAS is optional, pharmacy contractors who wish to offer other services such as flu vaccination and contraception services must also provide the CAS.
“Increase access”
The letter said that all contractors will “undertake at least one” visit to a GP practice between April 1 and September 30 “to raise awareness of the availability of the STTT and UTI service to further increase access”.
“A winter pressures incentive will be put in place in 2025/26…to incentivise contractors to meet a minimum CAS consultation threshold per month or a minimum percentage increase in consultations” each month from October 2025 to March 2026, it added.
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“Pending conclusion of a current piece of explorative policy work”, the CAS will be further expanded to include treatment for “additional ailments” such as shingles and impetigo, the government said.
And it noted that CPW will also “support further expansion of the pharmacist independent prescribing services (PIPs) to ensure the public have access to advice and treatment for a more diverse range of clinical conditions prior to winter 2025/26”.
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Welsh health secretary Jeremy Miles yesterday said that “community pharmacies play a vital role in providing healthcare across Wales [and] this extra investment ensures they can continue serving communities effectively”.
Meanwhile, the Welsh government this week also announced the launch of a “grant scheme” offering community pharmacy contractors up to £45,000 to carry out improvements to their premises.
