The four largest multiples have fulfilled their promise to include independents in their Community Pharmacy Future (CPF) project, in an expansion that will also see Tesco join the national services pilot.

The CPF project – launched in September 2012 and funded and piloted by Boots, the Co-operative Pharmacy, Lloydspharmacy and Rowlands – has involved branches in the north-west of England trialling medicines support services for COPD sufferers and older patients on multiple drugs.

Eight independents and three Tesco pharmacies will also trial the services from April, under agreement with Wirral LPC and Ashton, Leigh & Wigan LPC, the multiples announced last week.

"The time is now right to bring other pharmacies into the pilots, so we can demonstrate that these services can be delivered across the whole of community pharmacy" Tricia Kennerley, Alliance Boots

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Celesio UK external relations and policy director Andy Murdock told C+D in November last year that independents would be brought "into the mix" to ensure the multiples understood the challenges that community pharmacy faced.    Alliance Boots director of healthcare public affairs Tricia Kennerley said this week that the services were going well in the multiples' branches already taking part and that the project team was pleased with the level of engagement in the pilot areas.

"The CPF project is designed to demonstrate the expanded role that community pharmacy can play by designing and testing new pathways for pharmacy services," Ms Kennerley said. "The time is now right to bring other pharmacies into the pilots, so we can demonstrate that these services can be delivered across the whole of community pharmacy, including independent pharmacies."

Independent pharmacy chain MedicX Pharmacy, which will be offering the services in two of its pharmacies in the Wirral, said it would be working hard to make it a success.

"The CPF project is a great example of the type of behaviour the profession needs to display to expand our opportunities and take a place more fully in the minds of tomorrow's commissioners," MedicX Pharmacy operations director Gavin Birchall told C+D.

PSNC is providing funding to cover the training of the pharmacy teams joining the project. Chief executive Sue Sharpe said the committee was looking forward to seeing how the services worked "within a wider range of pharmacy settings".

The data from the pilot is being processed by health economist IMS health and the multiples expected to receive the results in July, Mr Murdock told C+D last week.