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Expanding Pharmacy First through new prescribing-led pathways could ‘raise public expectations’ and “add pressure, conflict and professional exposure” for pharmacists unless safeguards are introduced, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association has warned.

In a statement yesterday (September 14), the PDA said it supports ambitions to deploy pharmacists’ clinical skills but warned these “will only be realised if the service is properly planned, staffed and resourced”.

The organisation said: “The expansion of pharmacist prescribing is not a simple add-on to existing pharmacy work.

“It involves clinical assessment, decision-making, prescribing, record keeping, communication with other healthcare professionals, and appropriate follow-up.

“Each of these activities requires time, professional focus, suitable facilities, and an appropriate team around the pharmacist.”

The PDA called for workforce commitments, including a model of at least two pharmacists working in every pharmacy and “enough trained support staff,” robust governance and protected time for clinical work.

It said that promoting the service as a convenient walk-in option could “increase the likelihood of frustration, conflict, and complaints when patients cannot be seen quickly, when a consultation does not lead to a medicine supply, or when pharmacists must prioritise patient safety over unrealistic expectations”.

Repeating its call for pharmacists to be involved in designing new NHS services, the PDA said: “Pharmacists are already managing dispensing, clinical checking, supervision, public health services, medicines advice, and operational pressures.

“Adding more clinical pathways without increasing workforce capacity risks placing further strain on an already stretched profession.”

Related: Pharmacy First expansion will see pharmacists operate “beyond their training”, warns doctors body