A new and exclusive series set to be released over the coming weeks will explore how the ARRS has altered the pharmacy landscape – both in practices and community settings – while shining a light on the workforce issues facing both sectors

In the past, GP practices mostly comprised doctors, nurses and administrative staff. But in the 2010s, the idea of multidisciplinary working in general practice became more prevalent, with practices being given funding to employ pharmacists in a 2015 scheme, culminating in the introduction of the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) in 2019.

This has seen an explosion in the number of GP practice pharmacists.

Pharmacists are taking on wide responsibilities within general practice such as medication reviews and patient consultations and are developing their prescribing skills. The are seen as an invaluable member of the team. Indeed, they are the most coveted profession for GP partners and practice managers.

Practice pharmacists themselves seem the most content profession within general practice. They are respected and seen as useful members of the team by colleagues, and the fact they are paid through the ARRS means they are seen as good value for money at a time when practices are facing a funding squeeze.

But there are negatives. The vast majority of practice pharmacists started their career in community pharmacy, and – partly as a result of the ARRS – community pharmacists are now facing their own recruitment crisis.

A new series from The Pharmacist, released over the next few weeks, looks into how pharmacy has been affected by the ARRS.

It will examine the types of practice where pharmacists play the biggest roles, and how the next cohort of practice practices will get trained. We will also speculate on how practice and community pharmacy will look in the future if trends continue.

New: White paper

This series is based on a major new white paper from the publishers of The Pharmacist, Cogora, on the changing general practice workforce in England, in conjunction with the Rebuild General Practice campaign group.

Alongside our sister titles – Pulse, Pulse PCN, Healthcare Leader, Management in Practice and Nursing in Practice – we have surveyed around 2,500 general practice professionals, interviewed more than 100 frontline practitioners, analysed hundreds of data for every practice in England and brought together all the editorial expertise within our titles.

The white paper is being launched at a Parliamentary event tomorrow (23 January), which will be attended by MPs, GP, nursing, pharmacy and practice manager leaders, and numerous frontline GPs.

We are aiming for this report to shine a light on primary care workforce issues and make the case as to why the whole of primary care needs greater funding.

Keep an eye on our dedicated section over the next few weeks.