Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) members have provided over 1 million Clinical Pathway Consultations since the Pharmacy First service launched in England.
Across the sector, an estimated 3m+ patients have visited their local pharmacy for advice or treatment for the seven conditions.
Almost 9,000 people received care through Clinical Pathway consultations at CCA pharmacies across the 2025 Easter weekend and consultation volumes rose by 10% in the week before Christmas 2024. This shows that Pharmacy First is providing vital NHS access for patients, often at times when they are unable to access other parts of the health system.
The service has also increased access to care within deprived communities, which typically have poorer access to other services such as General Practice[i]. Over a quarter (28%) of consultations undertaken by CCA members to date have been in the most deprived communities.
Patients continue to respond well to the service which has offered an additional access route to same day NHS care. Consultation volumes continue to grow at an average rate of 6% per month.
The service has particularly benefited patients needing care outside of usual working hours, with around 1 in 3 consultations taking place during this time. Demand for consultations on Sundays is double the average of that during the week1.
Malcolm Harrison, CCA Chief Executive, said: “CCA members continue to deliver high quality Pharmacy First consultations in ever increasing volumes. Patient demand for pharmacy-led care continues to grow, and pharmacies are ready to meet it.
The sector now consistently provides over 200,000 consultations a month. However, the pharmacy network has the potential to deliver so much more.
If the Government is serious about moving care into the community, they should expand the service to include more conditions and treatments to ensure more patients can be treated. Pharmacy First service must also become an independent prescribing-led service.
With ambitious commissioning from the Government, up to 40 million consultations could be safely transferred from general practice to community pharmacies every year.”
Notes to editors:
- The analysis is based on data collected from approximately 3,000 pharmacies since the launch of the Pharmacy First service (31stJanuary 2024) until 25th May
- Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) decile – the 32,844 Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England are ranked from most to least deprived, and then divided into 10 equal groups. LSOAs in decile 1 fall within the most deprived 10% of LSOAs nationally and LSOAs in decile 10 fall within the least deprived 10% of LSOAs nationally. When talking about the ‘most deprived communities’ here, we are referring areas with an IMD decile of 1 or 2.
- Usual working hours are 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
- A January 2025 analysis of Pharmacy First by the CCA found that expanding the criteria and treatments available for the existing seven conditions, and by adding new conditions, 40 million GP appointments could be freed up annually. This is around a tenth of all GP appointments annually. The report urges policymakers to increase the range of conditions covered in the service including eye infections, migraines, and chest infections, but also conditions which link with other parts of primary care, such as lower back pain and dental pain. It also urges the service to become an independent prescribing-led service over time.
- A December 2024 report by the CCA outlines how pharmacists are acting responsibly as antimicrobial stewards through the NHS Pharmacy First service. It shows that the provision of antibiotics in community pharmacy is largely in line with or lower than in other parts of primary care.