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An extra funding pot of £500,000 for pharmacies that provide the Pharmacy First Plus service has been announced by the Scottish government.
In a circular letter, sent on 31 October 2025, Alison Strath, chief pharmaceutical officer for Scotland, said that contractors delivering the Pharmacy First Plus service will receive an “activity payment from a newly established monthly pot for IP prescribing activity, initially agreed at £0.5m”.
“There is no minimum activity threshold set to access the NHS Pharmacy First Service Plus activity payment pot,” the letter added.
The Pharmacy First Plus service is a prescriber-led service extension of the Pharmacy First service for conditions that include urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and ear, nose and throat conditions.
The letter also said that pharmacies employing an independent prescribing pharmacist will be able to claim for Pharmacy First Plus services, even if they do not meet the previously-required 25 hours per week of service availability for a minimum of 45 weeks per year.
However, these contractors will not be eligible for the monthly £3,000 base payment to Pharmacy First Plus pharmacies, it said.
Gordon Winter, policy and development officer at Community Pharmacy Scotland, welcomed the “key changes”.
“The new payment pot will allow the work of our independent prescribers in Scotland to be recognised and valued in an appropriate manner going forward,” he said.
“This is important, as with an increasing number of qualified prescribers in the coming years, our community pharmacy teams can further develop their skills and services to help meet the needs of our patients and the wider NHS.”
Winter added that the changes will also allow independent prescribing pharmacists, who are not meeting the original service specification thresholds, to offer Pharmacy First Plus.
“This is something we are aware independent prescribing pharmacists [who have not been able to meet the] thresholds have been asking for, to enable them to utilise their enhanced consultation skills and provide this level of care for their patients,” he said.
Strath’s letter added that the Scottish government intends to extend the Pharmacy First Plus service as the cohort of independent prescriber pharmacists increases, and that a new service specification will be published in 2026.
