Is Pharmacy First creating a parallel primary care system?

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By Erin Dean

As pharmacies add treatment for migraine, acne and hay fever, a growing number of doctors are raising concerns about fragmented care – and diverted funding.

A national NHS advertising campaign programme last winter emphasised that patients can access treatment at high street pharmacies “without you seeing a GP”. One poster tells an uncertain-looking woman that she can “get well sooner” if she steps from the pavement into the brightly lit pharmacy.

The campaign was highlighting that, since the launch of the Pharmacy First initiative in 2024, the NHS has encouraged patients to ask their local pharmacist for advice and treatment if they were struggling with seven specific conditions: sore throat, sinusitis, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, earache in children or urinary tract infections in women.

Are doctors right to be concerned about the ongoing push to move more care into high street pharmacies?

Now, the list of conditions included under Pharmacy First has been expanded to include five more: migraine, acne, scabies, seasonal hay fever (allergic rhinitis) and outer ear infection (otitis externa) in adults.