The Pharmacist: Six months of Pharmacy First roundtable

Objectives

Pharmacy First, allowing referral from GPs, aimed to alleviate pressures on general practice and emergency care by empowering pharmacists to provide advice and treatment for minor ailments.

Community pharmacies can sign up to offer advice and treatment, where merited, around seven common clinical conditions, guided by new national clinical protocols. These are conditions where the patient would have otherwise needed an appointment at a GP practice.

Our Pharmacy First roundtable, held in August, reflected on the first six months of the service in England.

Our approach

The Pharmacist created a Pharmacy First hub soon after the scheme was announced, to house ongoing news and clinical content supporting pharmacy teams to deliver the new services, plus highlighting the useful content already produced as the service was being developed.

Six months on from the launch, The Pharmacist organised a roundtable discussion to reflect on the first six months of the service, including successes, challenges and possible future direction.

Using our extensive database of trusted key opinion leaders, we welcomed six experts to share their knowledge with our pharmacist audience.

We deliberately sought to create conversation across both the pharmacy and general practice sector, recognising that engagement from both is needed to make a success of Pharmacy First.

The discussion spotlighted innovative approaches and key insights to improve Pharmacy First services, with a strong push for walk-in access for minor ailments to enhance patient care.

Key highlights included:

• Collaboration: Successful initiatives like the ICB-funded “PharmAlarm” streamline GP-pharmacy referrals, while training facilitators helps address operational challenges.
• Addressing hurdles: Funding complexities and workload pressures hinder progress. Revised reimbursement models and better referral rates are needed for sustainability.
• Raising awareness: Local campaigns and NHS 111 training have boosted patient education, but attendees called for national efforts to amplify impact.

Overall, attendees agreed that Pharmacy First is not a solution to GP access pressures nor to the community pharmacy funding crisis. The message was clear—refined clinical pathways, better funding, and broader accessibility will ensure Pharmacy First delivers on its potential.

Outcome

• 1,100 views

A report of the roundtable generated great engagement in the first two months of launch, with over 1,100 views.

Our reports and roundtables are essential resources in delivering in-depth insights and fostering informed discussions on critical topics across primary care.​ Using our extensive HCP community, and knowledge of the sector, we produce content that addresses current challenges, trends, and innovations, providing value to HCPs and organisations alike.

Such content presents a unique opportunity for clients to align their brands with trusted, expert-led content, and gain valuable exposure to our highly engaged audience. ​Contact us for more information.

The Pharmacist provides news and clinical content to community pharmacists – those working in high street pharmacies – with a focus on independent pharmacies and their teams. Our experienced team works hard to tailor exclusive news and updates to our audience, bringing insight and unique insights.