Just over half (52%) of the pharmacies participating in Pharmacy First met the monthly threshold of 20 clinical pathways in November, analysis by The Pharmacist suggests.
This puts the scheme in a slightly healthier position than the previous two months, when fewer than half of participating pharmacies met the thresholds after they rose to 20 in September.
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The rise seems to be driven by an increase in seasonal ailments, including consultations for sinusitis, sore throats and earache.
Some 5,309 pharmacies in England conducted the 20 or more clinical pathway consultations required for the £1,000 monthly payment in November, according to latest data from the NHS Business Services Authority.
But an estimated 4,822 pharmacies that originally signed up to provide the service did not meet the November threshold.
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A total of 211,386 clinical pathway consultations were provided by pharmacies in England in November 2024, including:
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- 28,205 acute otitis media consultations
- 72,132 acute sore throat consultations
- 10,524 impetigo consultations
- 7,846 infected insect bite consultations
- 5,175 shingles consultations
- 26,379 sinusitis consultations
- 61,395 uncomplicated UTI consultations.
Consultations for the three winter ailments – otitis media, sore throat and sinusitis – had been on the rise since the autumn, while the number of infected insect bite consultations continued to decrease since the summer, and UTI consultations remained high, potentially reflecting increased awareness of the service.
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