How community pharmacy owners can promote Pharmacy First service

NHS England and the DHSC are planning a communications campaign for the new service  

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has released a series of resources to help pharmacy owners and their teams promote the new Pharmacy First service, which is slated for launch on 31st January 2024.

Pharmacists can use a variety of resources, including posters, social media content, flyers and a local press release, to raise awareness of the new service to patients and members of the public.

The promotional materials are now available to download from the Committee’s website.

“The messaging and graphics have been developed with the input of pharmacists and pharmacy owners, to highlight the benefits of the service to patients, the public, and the NHS,” it said.

CPE has been providing a range of information, guidance and resources to support community pharmacies in the implementation of the new service.

Beginning Monday 29 January 2024, the committee will be hosting a series of online drop-in sessions (no need to register) to assist pharmacy professionals with any queries they may have on the service.

Furthermore, CPE is working closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to prepare a significant communications campaign for Pharmacy First, which is planned to start in the second half of February.

“We have made sure NHS England understands the importance of seeking to balance driving uptake of the seven clinical pathways with preventing inappropriate demand being driven into community pharmacy,” it revealed.

Pharmacy minister Andrea Leadsom recently confirmed that more than 90 per cent of community pharmacies in England have signed up to provide the common conditions service.

She revealed it while responding to a written question from Labour’s York Central MP Rachael Maskell, who inquired about development made on the implementation of the service.

In a survey by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA), however, 66 per cent of respondents (employed and locum pharmacists) said that they were not confident that their pharmacy would be able to deliver the service on 31 January, given the current workload.