Community Pharmacy England (CPE) last month announced that it would audit the “huge amount of unpaid work” triggered by the Pharmacy First service.

It last week (June 20) urged pharmacy teams to take part “before it’s too late”, adding that it had extended the participation period to 23:59 on June 28 to “give as many pharmacies as possible the chance to share their data”.

CPE said that the audit, which can be completed over just one day and submitted via PharmOutcomes, will “provide critical evidence” about the informal advice pharmacies provide and the impact of Pharmacy First.

Read more: CPE to audit ‘huge amount of unpaid work’ triggered by Pharmacy First

It will also help the negotiator “drive lobbying efforts”, support its ongoing call for more funding and “show policymakers and others [pharmacy teams’] work to build more advocates for the sector”, it added.

“Pharmacy teams are extremely busy and I know how stretched they are for time,” CPE service development subcommittee chair and community pharmacy owner Fin McCaul said.

“But given the immense pressure we are under, there has never been a more critical time to gather this evidence to highlight the fantastic work you do to political and NHS leaders,” he added.

Read more: Pharmacies set to receive just £180m of £645m ‘promised’ Pharmacy First funding

Last month, CPE said it “knew that the launch of Pharmacy First could lead to a ‘halo’ effect of ever-more people seeking advice from community pharmacies – some of which falls outside of the funded service”.

It asked pharmacy teams to collect data on the extra unpaid “informal advice” they deliver to “get an accurate picture of how much of this is taking place”.

The negotiator said at the time that the results would be “used directly” in ongoing negotiations with the government and NHS, including for “increased funding”.