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The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) has called on the Government to go “further and faster” in expanding the scope of Pharmacy First through the use of independent prescribing.

The new CCA report says policymakers should initially focus on respiratory tract infections, acute dermatology conditions and migraine and acute headache as “immediate priorities”. 

Pharmacists’ skills should ultimately be leveraged to treat “a much wider range of urgent care conditions” through the service, the CCA said as it pointed to Wales – where the minor ailments service includes a wider range of conditions and in 2024-25 delivered more than twice as many consultations per head as the English scheme.

The report also called on the Government to increase the number of independent prescribing pharmacists through funding Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) provision and offering funded IP training to more pharmacists. 

Other recommendations included improving digital interoperability and digital referral pathways, as well as balancing national service specifications with local population needs. 

The report called for funding that “supports capacity and rewards delivery” to help meet these objectives. 

The report was published with the help of a grant from Pfizer and in collaboration with the National Pharmacy Association and Pharmacy in Practice. 

CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said: “Demand for urgent care continues to grow, but there is a huge opportunity sitting within community pharmacies to help meet it.

“Pharmacy First has already shown what community pharmacy can deliver. Recent announcements are welcome, and patients are already presenting in pharmacies requesting treatment for these conditions. Delivering much greater benefits for patients and the NHS, requires moving from pockets of activity to care at scale.

“Expanding Pharmacy First provides the opportunity to do that. Combined with independent prescribing, it would enable more patients to access convenient care closer to home while releasing capacity elsewhere in the NHS.

“With the right funding, workforce and infrastructure in place, community pharmacy can play a much bigger role in meeting urgent care needs.”

NPA chief Henry Gregg said: “In Scotland, a patient can be treated for around 30 different ailments at their pharmacy, with over a third of the population accessing Pharmacy First last year.

“With pressure and costs mounting on the wider health system and more and more prescribing pharmacists coming into community pharmacy, the NHS should turbo charge Pharmacy First so it can reach its full potential and provide first class care, close to people's homes."