West Yorkshire showcases partnership working to deliver Pharmacy First
David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, and Ali Sparke, Director for Dentistry, Community Pharmacy and Optometry, recently visited Trinity Medical Centre and Pharmacy Plus Health in Wakefield to learn how the GP surgery and community pharmacy work effectively together to deliver Pharmacy First.
They met a range of colleagues, including Ruth Buchan, Community Pharmacy Clinical Lead at NHS West Yorkshire ICB. Here David and Ruth explain how Pharmacy First gives local people more convenient access to safe and high-quality healthcare and how working together benefits both the pharmacy and surgery.
Integrating services between general practice and community pharmacy is central to West Yorkshire’s Joint Forward Plan ambition. Increasing the use of Pharmacy First required the GP practice and community pharmacy to work together to address any challenges – transforming from a low number of referrals at the start, to the GP practice now viewing Pharmacy First as part of the clinical capacity available to them to help manage patient demand.
The general practice team at Trinity Health Centre has found the new Pharmacy First service hugely beneficial, reducing the workload for clinicians within the practice. The community pharmacy team can use their clinical skills and experience better. And patients are also positive about the new pathway to same-day consultations.
Communication is essential to this success. Examples include the GP practice sending the patient a text after referral to Pharmacy First to support and endorse that the pharmacy is the best place for the patient. The pharmacist also has a direct line into the practice and can arrange same-day appointments for patients when escalation is needed. The practice appreciates these referrals back to them are necessary and that, for every referral back to the practice, eight to ten patients are successfully managed by the community pharmacy, saving appointments in general practice that are then available to other patients.
Dr Omar Alisha, Senior Partner at Trinity Health Centre, said: “The most important factors for success are that the GP practice and pharmacy work closely together. Our practice sees Pharmacy First (and community pharmacy) as part of our available clinical capacity. Once implemented, the service became part of the day-to-day process of helping patients receive the right care from the right service in a timely manner. The success of the Pharmacy First approach has increased staff confidence, leading to more referrals. The positive impact for both practice staff and patients is clear to see.”
Sarah Passmore, Superintendent Pharmacist at Pharmacy Plus Health. added: “Patients are seeing the benefit of the service with quicker treatment options and same-day face-to-face consultations at the pharmacy. It eases the workload on the GP practice and allows the patient to get the best possible care quickly.”
The Pharmacy First service, launched on 31 January 2024, builds on the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service and enables community pharmacies to offer treatment and some prescription medicine for seven specific conditions without patients needing to see a GP.
David Webb
David Webb is the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, having previously been Chief Pharmacist and Clinical Director for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He is a member of NHS England Medical Directorate’s senior management team, the UK Government Chief Medical Officer’s senior clinical group, Head of the Pharmacy Professions in England and the principal advisor on pharmacy and medicines use in the NHS, which includes supporting the Department of Health and Social Care.
Ruth Buchan
Ruth Buchan is a pharmacist who works as Community Pharmacy Clinical Lead at West Yorkshire ICB. She was previously Chief Executive Officer at Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire.