NHSE to launch community pharmacy workforce survey this month

NHS England’s annual community pharmacy workforce survey will launch this month and be open for eight weeks.

The survey, conducted by the North of England Commissioning Support Unit, has been part of the community pharmacy regulations since 2022.

Pharmacies will be emailed by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), with a request to complete the online survey.

Community Pharmacy England said that if pharmacies do not receive an email from the NHSBSA, it is likely their head office will submit data on their behalf, but if in any doubt they should check with their head office.

In its latest Primary Care Bulletin, NHS England said the survey would be launched 'later this month'.

The results of last year’s survey, conducted in autumn 2022, revealed that the total full-time equivalent (FTE) community pharmacy workforce had fallen by 6% in a year, despite the overall number of pharmacists remaining ‘almost constant’.

It also found that integrated care boards in northern England had the highest number of FTE community pharmacist vacancies.

The results also suggested that community pharmacies are most likely to fund split-sector roles in Covid vaccination clinics, general practice and primary care networks.

However, a recent report by the Community Pharmacy Workforce Development Group called the survey findings into question, with statistics thought to have been overestimated due to double-counting of locum pharmacists.