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Pharmacy First services in Devon carried out over 8,000 consultations in five months, with 100 per cent of patients reporting that they would recommend the service to friends and family.

An evaluation of the service showed that it saved general practice doctor time of 465 hours, 303 hours of OOH GP time, and 35 hours for A&E. The total opportunity for monetary savings was forecasted to be over £40,000.

The Pharmacy First Services were commissioned by the new Devon CCG and South Devon and Torbay CCG through the Prime Minister's Challenge Fund and began in November 2014. There are three components:

• A 'winter ailments' service providing vulnerable groups with access to OTC medications
• A minor ailments PGD service covering bacterial conjunctivitis, impetigo, nappy rash, oral candidiasis and uncomplicated urinary tract infections
• An emergency supply service for patients without access to their repeat medication.

The overall aim of Pharmacy First was to increase capacity in primary care and shift demand from urgent care providers appropriately to community pharmacies, says Sue Taylor, chief officer of Devon LPC. It was evaluated by the LPC, CCGs and public health department using data collected via PharmOutcomes through the first five months of the service.

The evaluation identified a few areas where pharmacists and the LPC could be working better to ensure the aims of the Pharmacy First services are met, says Ms Taylor. In the meantime, the Devon LPC has received a further allocation of Prime Ministers’ Challenge Fund sustainability funding. This will support the Pharmacy First services to continue until the end of the financial year 2015-16 while the two CCGs consider their future, taking into account the recommendations included in the evaluation.