Common and minor ailment services

Pharmacy First uptake ‘not what we would like it to be’, says minister

Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock said that the government will work to reform the financial arrangements for Pharmacy First to incentivise pharmacists to embrace the scheme.…

Urgent reform needed to fulfil Pharmacy First potential, say pharmacy and GP leaders

Exclusive: A joint letter from local pharmaceutical committees and local medical committees in London has called on the government to improve patient access to Pharmacy First.…

Only one-third of pharmacies will meet new Pharmacy First monthly payment requirements, warns CCA

A report published by the Company Chemists' Association said new Pharmacy First bundling requirements may leave the service “financially unviable”.…

Pharmacy First passes 5 million consultations landmark

Data also show that in the first 13 months of the service, acute sore throat was the most common condition that patients sought help for, with more than 800,000 Pharmacy First consultations.…

The pharmacy funding boost is a step in the right direction but it will not go far enough

This month, our health policy columnist warns that while the latest pharmacy contract announcements are good news for pharmacy, the damage from years of underfunding may be difficult to undo.…

Welsh community pharmacy to receive one-off £6m stability payment

The Welsh government's investment in community pharmacies is equivalent to an added 30p per prescription item dispensed in January, February and March 2025.…

Delivering advanced services under the new pharmacy contract

Data obtained by The Pharmaceutical Journal show that one in ten pharmacies have withdrawn from an advanced service since 2021, but will the new funding make it easier for them to deliver these services?…

English pharmacy sore throat service twice as likely to supply antibiotics than Welsh equivalent

Researchers compared the antibiotic supply rates of the two schemes and found that 72.7% of patients in England were prescribed with antibiotics following a pharmacy consultation, compared with 29.9% in Wales.…

Pharmacy First budget ‘shockingly underspent’ in first half of financial year

In response to a written question to the Department of Health and Social Care, health minister Stephen Kinnock revealed that, as of November 2024, only £82m out of the £645m community pharmacy clinical services budget had been spent in 2024/2025.…

Hitting Pharmacy First thresholds is ‘challenging’, despite concessions, says CPE

Community Pharmacy England subcommittee board papers said monthly Pharmacy First threshold payments were being discussed in the ongoing contract negotiations.…