Pharmacy First in Scotland will rely less on patient group directions (PGDs) as more pharmacists qualify as prescribers, the Scottish Government has suggested.
New planning documents from the government have reconfirmed its commitment to expanding Pharmacy First to include a ‘greater number’ of clinical conditions.
The Scottish Government’s NHS Operational Improvement Plan published in March said the ‘first expansion’ to the scheme will happen by November 2025.
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‘We have already started work with health boards, including NHS 24, GPs and community pharmacists, to scope out further conditions that can be appropriately treated in a community pharmacy,’ the plan said.
‘From there we will develop patient group directions (PGDs), which allow community pharmacists to provide a prescription-only medicine without the need to see a GP or other qualified prescriber.’
With nearly half (48%) of Scottish pharmacists holding a prescriber annotation, Pharmacy First Plus already allows prescribing to be built onto the existing service.
And the Operational Improvement Plan suggested that with all newly registered pharmacists due to qualify as prescribers from August 2026, and alongside investment into prescribing training in community pharmacy, the need for PGDs will reduce.
The Scottish Government said it would ‘continue to invest in prescribing training for pharmacists already working in community pharmacy’ and that between April 2025 and March 2026 there would be an investment in a further 240 places.
The plan document added: ‘As more pharmacists qualify or train as prescribers this will reduce the requirement to use PGDs when expanding the Pharmacy First service.’
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In a separate blueprint published on Friday – the ‘Programme for Government 2025/26’ – the Scottish Government reiterated its commitment to enabling community pharmacists to treat more conditions under Pharmacy First.
Public health minister Jenni Minto said on Friday: ‘Pharmacy First helps people to access the right care, at the right place within their communities and it’s encouraging to see the number of people accessing this service has increased by 60% over the last three years.
‘As announced in the Programme for Government, we are working to increase the number of clinical conditions community pharmacists treat to reduce the need for GP visits and will announce further details in due course.’
Scotland’s Pharmacy First service covers a range of common conditions and unlike the English service, currently includes hay fever and skin infection not limited to insect bites. It does not however include acute sore throat, acute sinusitis and acute otitis media as the English service does.
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A spokesperson for Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) said the negotiator ‘looks forward to working closely with the Scottish Government to explore the untapped potential within the community pharmacy network and sustainably develop services on behalf of our members’.
The update comes as CPS this month accepted a £120m minimum reimbursement offer in the ‘first part’ of a financial deal with the Scottish Government.
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