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Pharmacy First in England should be expanded into a national walk-in clinical service, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on pharmacy has said.
In a report on the future of community pharmacy in England, published on 20 November 2025, the APPG said Pharmacy First should be “developed into a consistent, widely accessible front-door NHS service for minor conditions, covering a broader range of conditions, walk-in access and independent prescribing rights, where appropriate”.
The group also made several other recommendations, including the provision of a long-term funding settlement and the modernisation of the community pharmacy contract.
“Community pharmacy cannot thrive while operating with a £2bn annual shortfall. A long-term, inflation and volume-linked funding uplift is essential to sustain services and support innovation,” the report said.
The APPG also warned that “without urgent reform, patients will lose access to vital services”.
The group said its recommendations were informed by two oral evidence sessions held in December 2024 and May 2025, as well as the findings of the group’s 2022 inquiry into the future of pharmacy following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadik Al-Hassan, Labour MP for Somerset North and chair of the APPG on Pharmacy, commented: “The message from our report is clear: pharmacies stand ready to do more, but urgent action is needed to close the funding gap, support the workforce and put community pharmacy at the heart of primary care reform with a strong vision for the sector.”
Tase Oputu, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said: “With the right investment and integration into neighbourhood health services, pharmacy teams can play a transformative role in improving population health, supporting prevention and enabling better care across the NHS.
“Pharmacists are playing a growing clinical role in the NHS, but this depends on investing in our workforce and commissioning new services that make the most of their skills.”
She added: “Progress made through Pharmacy First is encouraging, and we urge accelerated support for community pharmacist prescribing to unlock the profession’s potential and expand access to treatment.
“Our wellbeing surveys have consistently shown the need for protected learning time, so it’s welcome to see this reflected in the APPG [on Pharmacy]’s findings. The APPG [on Pharmacy] is right to highlight the need for urgent action to secure a sustainable future for community pharmacy.”
Zoe Long, director of communications, corporate and public affairs at Community Pharmacy England, said: “[The report] powerfully reinforces our vision for community pharmacy and a future where pharmacies are fully recognised as essential pillars of primary care. It’s encouraging to see such strong alignment on the urgent need for sustainable funding, workforce investment, digital integration and national commissioning standards.”
Chris Askew, interim chief executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council, said: “The report highlights the importance of having a regulatory framework that supports innovation. As the pharmacy regulator, we are committed to making sure we provide a clear regulatory framework that empowers the pharmacy workforce to provide trusted, safe and effective patient care and enables innovation, as set out in our ‘Strategic plan 2025–30’.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Community pharmacists have a crucial role to play, as we move more care out of hospital and into the community.
“That’s why we’ve increased funding by 19% to almost £3.1bn compared to 2023/2024 — the biggest uplift for any part of the NHS this year.
“We will continue our discussions with the sector to ensure community pharmacy has the support it needs to deliver the expanded role we know it can play in building an NHS fit for the future.”
