Seamless patient care - across the professional divide

Time was that many community pharmacist–general practice relationships were narrowly based around the prescribing–dispensing interface.

But over the years the list of touchpoints has grown considerably and now also includes:

• Formal GP referrals into community for treatment of minor ailments;
• CP referrals into general practice following a health check - for example for hypertension;
• Medicines optimisation; and
• Shared access to patients’ electronic records.

Together with our dentist and optometry colleagues, nurses and others, we provide a solid bedrock of community-based NHS care for patients across the country.

Community pharmacies are probably the most visited of all settings in which NHS services are delivered, with nearly two million people each day. More than a billion prescription are dispensed each year and the range of NHS clinical services has expanded significantly in recent years.

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Demand for GP services is also growing. More than 700,000 more patients were registered with a GP in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24, and the number of appointments has risen by nearly 10% over the last two years.

The 2025 GP Patient Survey and several other measures show high levels of satisfaction across all primary care providers, with 88% saying they had a good experience of using a community pharmacy.

Despite the many positives, there are points of tension in the relationship between the key provider groups - born of training silos, IT systems that don’t talk to one another, inconsistent referrals in both directions, plus cultural factors.

Meanwhile, the architecture of our NHS contracts tends to set us up in competition for the same funding pots. The behaviours of a minority of providers delivering NHS vaccination programmes are a seasonal illustration of competitive dynamics at play.

Thankfully, there is much more that unites primary care practitioners than divides. There is a widespread understanding that positive general practice-community pharmacy relationships are an important underpinning to seamless patient care and also key to the future of both professions within the NHS.

Pharmacy First and the Pharmacy Contraception Service are among the newer NHS services that have improved access to healthcare whilst also reducing pressure on other parts of the health service, especially general practice.

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The different sectors in primary care certainly have common cause when it comes to investment in out-of-hospital care – as described in the 10-Year Health Plan for England and similar policy documents elsewhere in the UK.

The plan gives a clear direction to NHS systems to shift resources to primary care and community services. It is explicit that the share of expenditure on hospital care will fall while out-of-hospital care expands.

Wise investment can transform the current model, geared towards late diagnosis and treatment, to a model where more services and preventative interventions are delivered in local communities.

Reading the latest reports published by the UK Covid Inquiry, I am reminded that health care professionals came together in the most testing of circumstances to maintain core primary care services. The widespread, collaborative and patient-focused care given at the time – and before and since – is inspirational.

That’s why the National Pharmacy Association is delighted to be partnering with The Pharmacist's publisher Cogora on a unique GP-CP conference on 21-22 June, which we hope will be a springboard to great, patient-centred collaboration amongst primary care practitioners everywhere – powering neighbourhood health together.

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The conference will bring together community pharmacists with general practitioners to discuss how we can work more closely together and collaborate locally to make sure we provide the best possible service to patients. We hope to see you there.

Henry Gregg is chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).