Through that programme’s first 12 months, pharmacists have provided more than 2 million consultations and the chief executive of Community Pharmacy England Janet Morrison said this has taken a huge amount of pressure off GPs and the wider NHS.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Community pharmacy has a vital role to play as we shift the focus of the NHS out of hospitals and into the community, through our 10 Year Health Plan.
While pharmacies received additional payments for adopting Pharmacy First, Mr Kaye, who runs a pharmacy in Cornwall, said the core contract was broken.
Nick Kaye, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said the success of the programme proved that pharmacy was an integral part of the healthcare system.
Pharmacists also want to be able to provide more services, which they say would fit with the government’s NHS reform plan to get more healthcare closer to where people live, but they say an increase in their stagnant funding agreement is essential.
