Pharmacy First consultations reached their highest numbers yet in December, with an increase in both winter ailments and GP referrals, latest figures indicate.

In total, NHSBSA show 647,622 Pharmacy First consultations for December.

This includes 259,323 clinical pathway consultations – up from 211,386 in November which was previously the highest total to date.

An increase in sore throat consultations suggests that seasonal ailments seem to have driven this surge.

December also saw the highest amount of referrals from GPs and NHS111, with 388,299 consultations for minor ailments and urgent medicine supply referrals combined.

The latest figures show a 64% increase on November 2024 levels.

They also show a 63% increase on the previous highest monthly total of 238,416 referrals in May 2024.

In December, more pharmacies reached the threshold of 20 clinical pathway consultations required for the £1,000 monthly incentive payment than in the previous month.

The threshold will rise to 25 for January.

Pharmacy leaders have suggested that the impressive, though challenging, first year of Pharmacy First in England shows that the service can evolve further.

And a 'surprising volume' of weekend consultations demonstrated the value of access to the service out-of-hours, the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has said previously.

The CCA also suggested that there was a 'north-south' divide in consultation numbers.

Areas with greater patient awareness were often areas where similar services had previously been commissioned locally, the CCA suggested.

And it said that as Pharmacy First becomes embedded, patient awareness would continue to increase, further driving up consultation volumes.