31 January 2024, the NHS Pharmacy First advanced service launched, enabling community pharmacists to complete episodes of care for patients for seven common conditions, without the need for the patient to visit their general practice. The 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. T
FAQs about the service and clinical pathway explainer videos can be accessed via Community Pharmacy England. More information for community pharmacy, general practice and ICBs is available in this letter published on 31 January 2024.
Chief Pharmacutical Officer for England, David Webb, has recorded a message for the profession, thanking more than 10,000 pharmacies who have registered to deliver the service to date.
General practice staff should continue to refer using the same processes as for CPCS. For the first two to four weeks, consultation information will be received via NHSMail, as per usual practice. By the end of February, systems will have been updated so that the information can be reviewed by GP practices in the clinical system and added to the patient record with one click of a button.