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Pharmacy First in England should be expanded to include pharmacist independent prescribing, the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) has said.
In a report published on 27 May 2026, the CCA said that there were currently “almost no NHS-funded pathways for community pharmacists to prescribe for patients in England”, adding that “recent pilots are approaching the end without any certainty of future commissioning”.
The CCA also called on the government and NHS England to commission and fund independent prescribing services across community pharmacies in England, which would require additional funding and “the adoption of new digital enablers” to achieve this.
The report noted the success of Pharmacy First but highlighted that the service relies on the use of patient group directions (PGDs) rather than independent prescribing.
The inclusion of pharmacist independent prescribing in the service would mean that pharmacists would be able to prescribe around any PGD restrictions and “so will have the skills and tools to better meet patient needs”, the report said.
It also warned that if pharmacist independent prescribers in the community sector are not given more opportunities to use their qualifications, the sector could become less attractive as a career option.
The CCA made its call ahead of the first cohort of pharmacists who will become independent prescribers at the point of registration from summer 2026.
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said: “The government must not miss this landmark opportunity to harness independent prescribing skills in community pharmacy. Independent prescribing would allow pharmacists to manage more complex conditions, resolve more patient needs in a single consultation and reduce unnecessary pressure on GPs and urgent care services.
“Without funded prescribing roles in community pharmacy, there is a real risk that pharmacists will leave the sector, undermining patient access to NHS care.”
In its ten-year health plan for England, published in July 2024, the government said: “As community pharmacists increasingly become able to independently prescribe, we will increase their role in the management of long-term conditions, complex medication regimes, and treatment of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”
NHS England launched an ‘Independent prescribing in community pharmacy pathfinder programme’ in spring 2024 to test models of community pharmacy prescribing, with a view to creating a national community pharmacist prescribing service in England.
Central funding for the pilots ended in March 2026. The findings of an investigation conducted by The Pharmaceutical Journal, published on 18 May 2026, revealed that fewer than half of the local prescribing services trialled under the scheme have been continued into the 2026/2027 financial year.
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the NPA, commented: “Prescribers in community pharmacy have enormous potential to enable care closer to home supporting implementation of the ten-year health plan and the shift from hospital to community and drive fresh opportunities for pharmacies.
“It is right that we use the skills of pharmacists fully in dispensing, managing repeat prescriptions and optimising medicines use.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Community pharmacists are at the heart of local healthcare, which is why we’re working hard to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that left the sector on the brink of collapse.
“This government has already delivered a boost of almost £617m over the two previous years — more than any other area of the NHS — with funding arrangements for this year to be announced shortly, following consultation with the sector.”
Read more: ‘Preparing for pharmacist independent prescribing at scale‘
