From Janaury 31st 2024, thousands of pharmacists across England will be able to assess and treat patients without the need for a GP appointment or prescription for:

The seven conditions are:

The new Pharmacy First Service will enable community pharmacists to complete episodes of care for patients without the need for the patient to visit their general practice. This, alongside expansions to the pharmacy blood pressure checking and contraception services, will save up to 10 million general practice team appointments a year and help patients access quicker and more convenient care, including the supply of appropriate medicines for minor illness.

Use this link to find the nearest pharmacy to you: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy

Please use this link if you are in need of an emergency prescption of medication that you have run out of: https://111.nhs.uk/emergency-prescription. This can only be used for medicine you are prescribed regulary, through a repeat prescription. You will be charged your usual prescription fee. If you do not usually pay, it will be free.

If you need medicine and also have any symptoms, call 111 and speak to an adviser instead.

You cannot use this service to get:

• antibiotics for a new or recent problem
• controlled drugs that require identification to collect

If you have a smartphone then you can also use the NHS App to view and easily order your repeat prescriptions to collect from the pharmacy without the need of a paper prescription from your GP surgery. Please click this link for more information: https://www.fairviewmedicalcentre.co.uk/news/use-nhs-app-for-repeat-prescriptions

The Pharmacy First Service builds on the previous Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) by enabling community pharmacies to manage patients for seven common conditions, following specific clinical pathways. The overall service consists of three core elements:

• Pharmacy First (clinical pathways) – new element
• Pharmacy First (urgent repeat medicine supply) – previously commissioned as the CPCS.
• Pharmacy First (NHS referrals for minor illness) – previously commissioned as the CPCS.

Published: Feb 5, 2024