A YouGov Poll published last month (January 28) said 78% of respondents support the expansion of treatments available in pharmacies.
The results of the poll were released just days before the Pharmacy First service’s one-year anniversary. Of the 1,818 survey participants, 33% “strongly support” pharmacies providing “advice and treatment for more conditions such as chest infections and skin conditions”.
Read more: NHSBSA may ‘withhold’ payments amid Pharmacy First claims probe
The poll also revealed that 79% of respondents support pharmacies providing a “wider range of vaccinations beyond flu and Covid-19″ and 78% are in favour of pharmacies providing “advice and prescriptions” for menopause.
And there was even more support for pharmacies providing “contraceptive advice and prescriptions” and “regular checks for those with asthma or diabetes”, at 84% and 83% respectively.
“Lifeline”
In response to the survey results, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison said last week that “the public’s overwhelming support for pharmacies offering advice and care shows how much people rely on their local pharmacies.
“Pharmacy First has already proven to be a vital service, helping millions of patients across the country while freeing up GPs to focus on more complex health needs,” she added.
Read more: ‘Immense pressure’: Managers impose Pharmacy First targets
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair Nick Kaye said it was “clear that when the government invests in community pharmacy, it can deliver exceptional clinical care for patients and take pressure [off] the rest of our overstretched health system”.
“We now need to look to a future where pharmacies are trusted to deliver more clinical services, with the right funding to achieve this,” he said, adding that Pharmacy First “has so much potential to free up capacity elsewhere in the system and ease waiting times”.
And the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison similarly said that “it’s time to expand Pharmacy First so that even more GP capacity can be freed up” but added that “it’s imperative that the sector is stabilised first”.
“Uphill” battle
Finally, the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said that “Pharmacy First certainly is a step in the right direction for community pharmacy and primary care as a whole, but a year on and it has been an uphill climb”.
According to her, barriers to the service have included a “limited advertising campaign”, “the dependency of the service on GP referrals” and “thresholds that are unachievable for many”.
“It is only the professionalism from pharmacy teams that has ensured the initiative has been a qualified success,” Hannbeck added.
Read more: MP: GPs need ‘financial incentive’ to engage with Pharmacy First
“The main concern for community pharmacy remains the lack of adequate core funding – the sector needs the headroom to be able to manage debt then move forward with a remuneration model that gives both stability and the potential to invest, plan, and prepare for the future,” she said.
Meanwhile, the PDA revealed last month that three-quarters of pharmacists have been pressured to undertake Pharmacy First consultations, while the same proportion warned they cannot “safely deliver” the service.
The PDA survey on the Pharmacy First service showed that while most respondents supported the scheme’s expansion, “the majority” called for caveats such as additional staffing.
