The Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has struck a cautionary note after the government announced the expansion of the Pharmacy First scheme and advised the pharmacies to decide on an "individual basis" whether this programme makes "commercial sense" for their business.
Under the expanded Pharmacy First scheme, people can seek treatment for five more conditions - migraine, acne, scabies, ear infections, and rhinitis, from participating pharmacies.
This announcement follows the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2026/27 agreement to add new prescribing pathways starting from autumn 2026.
The CPE said, "At the time of the announcement of the 2026/27 settlement, despite our acceptance of the final CPCF offer, we are not persuaded that sufficient investment is being made to enable the full and effective introduction of prescribing, given the workload, enhanced clinical responsibility, clinical governance and infrastructure requirements that it will entail.
"It will be down to pharmacy owners, cognisant of the full operational and governance requirements that will apply to the introduction of prescribing into the CPCF, to decide on an individual basis whether it makes commercial sense for their business or whether they will instead prioritise the use of IP skills elsewhere in their business."
Pharmacy owners should note that more guidance and documentation related to the introduction of prescribing into the CPCF is still to be published by DHSC and NHS England, it added.
CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: “The expansion of Pharmacy First to incorporate prescribing is a strategically important development for community pharmacy and could be a gateway to a significantly expanded role for the sector.
“But if prescribing is to succeed at scale, it must be backed by sufficient investment. Pharmacy owners will need sustainable funding to make prescribing services viable and ensure they can be delivered safely and effectively for patients. Without that support, there is a real risk that the full benefits of this landmark development will not be realised.”
'Consider it carefully'
During a Pharmacy Business panel discussion, "Reflections on Pharmacy Funding" in June, Morrison said during the CPCF negotiations, they had told the government that this was an "insufficient investment".
“It doesn't cover the true costs of implementing the governance, the clinical care, the infrastructure, the digital requirements and the amount of time and workload it will take, so I'd say consider that carefully,” she said.
The CPE chief said if the community pharmacies are unhappy with the funding, "they should continue to deploy independent prescribers in private services as part of that strategy for diversification."
