The Pharmacy First October threshold will remain at 20 clinical pathway consultations, rather than rising to 30 as originally planned.

This means that pharmacies will need to conduct a minimum of 20 Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultations in October to be eligible for the monthly payment.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said it had 'been discussing this issue over the last few weeks with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England'.

And it said ministers' decision to reduce the October threshold came 'in light of the concerns' the negotiators had raised.

Janet Morrison, CPE chief executive, has previously said that the ability of pharmacy owners to meet the Pharmacy First monthly payment thresholds was 'a major ongoing concern'.

And the latest available data from the NHS business services authority (NHSBSA) suggests that as the thresholds increase month to month, a rising number of pharmacies are failing to meet them.

In May, an estimated 3,058 participating pharmacies did not complete the 10 clinical pathway consultations required for the monthly £1,000 payment, according to analysis by The Pharmacist.

This rose to an estimated 3,269 participating pharmacies in June.

And the August threshold was recently lowered to 15 following concerns from the sector that pharmacies were unable to meet the 20 originally proposed.

Speaking about the decision to reduce the October monthly threshold last night, CPE chief executive  Ms Morrison said: 'It is great that ministers have responded to our concerns about another increase to the Pharmacy First payment threshold: this decision will save many community pharmacies from missing out on a vital payment this month.'

Ms Morrison noted that CPE would 'continue to monitor the service data and, if needed, make further representations to ministers about future months'.

She added: 'We also need to find a longer-term solution to this, which means NHS England marketing Pharmacy First effectively and ensuring that GPs are actively referring people to the service. 

'It is encouraging that the new government has now acted twice to support community pharmacies struggling to meet Pharmacy First targets that were insisted on by the previous administration. We have been working hard to build constructive relationships with the new health ministerial team and we look forward to recommencing negotiations on the 2024/25 CPCF very soon.'

Meanwhile Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) welcomed the change, but said: 'We now need NHS England to turbocharge GP referrals and promotion of the service to the public, especially as we enter into the winter period.'

NHSE has also confirmed that it is reviewing its projected trajectory of how many Pharmacy First, blood pressure and contraception service consultations will be delivered by community pharmacies in 2024/25.

How do consultation types vary month to month?

Analysis by The Pharmacist has revealed that the majority of consultations recorded by pharmacies have been minor illness and repeat medicines supplies, both of which require a referral from a GP or NHS 111 and do not contribute to monthly threshold numbers.

As expected, the type of clinical pathway consultations has varied month to month, with an increase in infected insect bites and a decrease in sore throats as the summer began.

Pharmacists have previously raised concerns that they are spending time on clinical pathway consultations that do not meet the 'gateway point' to be recorded for a payment.