ARRS pharmacist numbers drop latest stats show

The number of pharmacists employed by primary care networks (PCNs) has fallen over the past quarter, according to new workforce statistics published by NHS England.

As of June 2025, the quarterly figures published this week show there were 7,123 pharmacists employed through the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS), which is a drop of 323 from previous March figures.

However, it remains the most popular ARRS role within PCNs, alongside care coordinators and social prescribers.

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The quarterly primary care workforce figures combine the National Workforce Reporting Service (NWRS) submissions and the ARRS claims data to give a picture of ARRS PCN staff across England.

Of the 23 roles reported within these statistics, 14 of them saw decreases over this quarter. While pharmacist numbers have the biggest drop there were also decreases in care coordinators which were down 278, nursing associates were down by 154, social prescribing link workers, down 90, and general practice assistants, down 79. Physician associates were also down by 63 roles.

Across the ARRS roles reported in this data, there was a total drop of 1,106. A similar drop happened between March 2024 and June 2024, where there the number of roles fell by 2,204.

The spreadsheet noted these figures were due to a ‘lag’ because of the ability to backdate ARRS claims.

It said: ‘As PCNs can backdate their ARRS claims, data from the ARRS claims portal is subject to lag, which is not necessarily consistent from quarter to quarter. For example, many PCNs submit claims for earlier months at the end of the financial year.

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‘Consequently, claims, and as a result the collated FTE figures in these tables, tend to be higher for March relative to other quarters.’

It was also noted that the change to the physician associate role from the Leng review, which will make them physician assistants, will be reflected in future publications.

Separately reported NHS England figures on ARRS claims data, which do not include the NWRS, suggest that there are now over 2,000 (headcount) GPs working in PCNs via the ARRS scheme.

Practice pharmacists have been reportedly feeling ‘unsettled’ over recent ARRS funding changes that mean some GP practices are looking to replace non-GP staff.

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A survey published in May found that PCN staff could be replaced by ARRS GPs, with more than a third of GP partner respondents saying that their PCN was considering doing this.

This article was first published by our sister title Pulse PCN