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GP collective action has contributed to in a drop in Pharmacy First referrals, according to a poll of pharmacy owners conducted by Community Pharmacy England (CPE).
Almost half (48.5%) of the 4,589 respondents to CPE’s survey in September 2024 said that GP action, which can include limiting the number of patients GPs will see each day, had led to a reduction in Pharmacy First referrals from general practices.
A similar proportion of respondents (47.6%) said pharmacy users were increasingly verbalising their frustration about GP services as a result of the action.
Just under half of pharmacists (45.1%) said that it was taking longer to issue repeat prescriptions, while 43.7% said it was taking longer to resolve queries on prescriptions following the action.
The collective action, which does not involve every general practice, began in August 2024 following a ballot by the British Medical Association, in which 98% of members voted for action “to protect general practice”, calling for “a new contract that is fit for purpose”.
Results of a survey of GP practices published in August 2024 by GP magazine Pulse revealed that more than a quarter were limiting their daily consultations to 25.
The CPE poll also revealed “more than 60%” of respondents said they were ‘not at all confident’ about meeting Pharmacy First thresholds in September and October 2024, which trigger monthly payments of £1,000.
When Pharmacy First was introduced at the end of January 2024, the £1,000 payment threshold started at one consultation per month, but it rose over time to 20 consultations per month for September 2024 and is due to increase to 30 consultations per month in October 2024.
The vast majority (86.9%) of CPE’s poll respondents said that the low number of GP referrals was one factor in the failure to meet Pharmacy First payment thresholds, while 81.4% cited lack of Pharmacy First service advertising as a factor.
On 2 September 2024, The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that community pharmacies had missed out on almost £10m in funding since the launch of Pharmacy First on 31 January 2024, after failing to meet increasing payment thresholds.
Commenting on the survey results, Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, said: “The recent GP action was expected to exacerbate the very difficult situation for pharmacy teams, and this has been borne out through our findings.
“Pharmacy First is a critical service — for patients, for pharmacy, and for the wider NHS. It has already helped many millions of people and numbers appear to be rising. But to ensure that it continues to succeed, we need to see NHS England consistently and effectively marketing the service to the public, as well as driving up referrals to it.
“Concerningly, almost half of community pharmacies reported a reduction in Pharmacy First referrals and an increase in patients voicing frustration with GP services, as well as a quarter noting a rise in informal referrals from general practices.
“We have shared our concerns about all of this with NHS England and GPC England and will continue to monitor this, including through regular conversations with [local pharmaceutical committees] and regional representatives.”
Also commenting on the poll findings, Gareth Jones, director of corporate affairs at the National Pharmacy Association, said: “It’s inevitable that there is some impact on pharmacies from the collective action by GPs, though it varies from place to place.
“This adds pressure to an already-pressurised situation for our members, including the operational challenges of Pharmacy First.”
