CPE firms up Pharmacy First national campaign requirements

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has confirmed details for the two required national health campaigns in 2025/26, which will promote the Pharmacy First service to the public.

All pharmacies must take part, using relevant campaign materials during the following periods:

• Monday 20 October 2025 to Sunday 9 November 2025
• Monday 2 February 2026 to Sunday 22 February 2026

The first campaign will run alongside an NHS England promotional push supporting Pharmacy First. The creative content will largely mirror that used in prior ‘Think Pharmacy First’ campaigns, with minor updates.

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Pharmacies can fulfil their campaign obligations in various ways, including:

• Displaying posters, leaflets or other promotional materials in store
• Sharing information via their website or social media channels
• Including service information in emails or SMS messages sent to patients

Existing Pharmacy First promotional content already in use is sufficient to meet campaign requirements, CPE has advised.

For pharmacies that have not yet adopted these materials, a range of resources will be made available to download. Updated digital assets will also appear on the DHSC campaign resource centre.

The promotional requirement aligns with a government‑mandated change under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) for 2025/26, with pharmacy owners obligated to deliver two national and two local campaigns during the year.

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As of 1 October, pharmacy owners must use the updated Pharmacy First clinical pathways, protocol and Patient Group Directions (PGDs).

This was included in NHS England’s Primary Care Bulletin last month after IT system suppliers confirmed that the ‘necessary changes to the clinical IT systems will be made on schedule’.

The final updated clinical pathways and PGDs can be found on the NHS England website, as well as an updated master PGD authorisation sheet which pharmacists can choose to sign instead of signing each individual PGD.

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It was also announced on 1 October that the requirement to provide one Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) consultation per month as part of the ‘bundling’ requirements to achieve a Pharmacy First fixed monthly payment will no longer go ahead as originally planned.

The delay follows representations from CPE and feedback from pharmacy owners and their teams, many of whom reported struggling to get patients to accept ABPM after a high clinic blood pressure reading.