Independent pharmacists have revealed their struggles rolling out Pharmacy First as the service marks one year since its launch in England. 

Pharmacists told Independent Community Pharmacist their experiences of the service, which launched on January 31 last year, had largely been negative for a variety of reasons. 

Rajesh Malde at Odessey Pharmacy in Kettering said the time and money he spent training his staff had not been worth it because he had struggled to secure a financial return.

“We have been involved since the service’s inception. We were very excited. Sorry to use these words but it has been rubbish,” he said.

“All the time we have spent training and we have not been able to tap into any of the lump sum monies. I am sorry to say it has been a hugely wasted effort. I don’t think we will be involved in any future schemes like that.”

Concerns over monthly consultation thresholds

Some pharmacists have expressed concerns about meeting the monthly consultation thresholds to qualify for the fixed payments of £1,000. The thresholds were revised in October last year to 25 for January and February and 30 for March.

Vinod Patel from Bradshaw Street Pharmacy in Wigan said he has struggled to hit the targets despite engaging with local GPs. He insisted they have not been interested in working with him on the service.

“We have only managed to achieve the target number three times since the service started. We have no hope of hitting the new targets, even the lower thresholds,” he said.

“I have proactively engaged with our local surgeries to encourage the use of the service but we’re having no success as the GPs are not interested in engaging. The few engagements we have achieved are walk-in patients.”

Patel said he highlighted “the unfairness of the payment system” to Community Pharmacy Greater Manchester during its annual general meeting but “holds out no hope of anything changing.”

To get funding and numbers is just impossible

Lisa Gallagher from Stephen's Pharmacy in Liverpool said Pharmacy First was “a brilliant idea” but was “impossible” to do because of what is required of pharmacies to secure the funding.

“It's a massive help to people in the community, absolutely massive. But to get the funding and the numbers we are required to hit now is just impossible,” she said.

Umesh Patel at Leema Pharmacy in Sunderland said there should be no limits to the number of consultations pharmacies can do but the government should inject more funding into the service.

“The government should pay higher fees for each PF consultation done and pay, say, £500 a month for the service a contractor does. Everyone should be a winner here,” he said.

Unacceptable that GPs send patients to us 10 minutes before closing

Shenu Barclay, a locum pharmacist who works in Northampton, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading and Derbyshire, said Pharmacy First freed up “lots of time for GPs so they can deal with more complex cases” and “helped awareness of clients regarding pharmacists’ ability to treat at least 30 minor ailments and seven clinical conditions.”

However, he was concerned that locums “need to register for their authenticator to work in each health authority.” He said pharmacists were getting referrals from NHS 111 for conditions that needed input from a GP, such as vitiligo and chest infections.

Barclay added: “GPs need to be educated that each provision of Pharmacy First needs at least 20 to 30 minutes, Currently, we are getting customers 10 minutes before closing time. That's absolutely unacceptable.”

He also said “some companies are using Pharmacy First as an income source even though the client may not need any treatment.”

Tell us about your experiences of Pharmacy First by emailing neil.trainis@1530.com