Can Pharmacists Replace GPs for Common Conditions?

Pharmacy First launched in January 2024, enabling community pharmacists to assess and treat seven common conditions without GP referral: UTIs in women, sinusitis, sore throat, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and earache in children.^[1] In its first year, 1.4 million consultations took place, with 89% of cases resolved without GP involvement — the most significant expansion of pharmacy clinical services in NHS history.^[1,2] Pharmacists can prescribe antibiotics under a patient group direction and refer to a GP or A&E for complex presentations. The scheme delivers same-day access compared to an average 2.4-day wait for a routine GP appointment, and early signals suggest GP practices in high-utilisation areas are seeing modest reductions in appointment demand for covered conditions.^[3]

Access is not uniform. Independent pharmacies, which serve a disproportionately high share of deprived communities, have been slower to enrol due to IT system requirements and administrative burden.^[2] Rural areas with few pharmacies derive limited benefit from the scheme. The payment per consultation of £15 is considered by many owners to be below cost after staff time, consumables, and administration — creating a financial sustainability problem that threatens expansion to additional conditions including skin conditions, minor injuries, and respiratory infections.^[2] Deprived communities, who would benefit most from accessible same-day care, are currently least well served by a scheme whose commercial structure disadvantages the pharmacies that reach them.