Pharmacy First 'has a role to play in the wider provision of care', the chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) GP Committee for England has told The Pharmacist.

Referrals to the Pharmacy First minor ailments pathway have declined since the service was introduced, with a steeper drop recorded for August.

But Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer said the nearly 100,000 recorded for August 'demonstrates that Pharmacy First has a role to play in the wider provision of care'.

However, she added that the service must not 'negatively impact patients in other ways such as timely access to the dispensing of medications which patients are reliant upon'.

Dr Bramall-Stainer also noted that the entire healthcare system generally 'sees a modest drop in demand' during August.

She said that until data for September is available, 'we will not know if [the drop during August] represents a familiar annual trend or not'.

Decline in GP Pharmacy First referrals

Some 87,405 claims for minor illness consultations in August were submitted to, processed and published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) by 25 November.

This was a reduction of more than 20,000 from the 110,511 recorded for July, and nearly 50,000 fewer than the 137,396 recorded for February 2024, the first full month of Pharmacy First in England.

'Good to see GPs value medicines supply'

Responding to the BMA's comment, Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), said it was 'good to see that GPs show value to our complex and important supply of medication role'.

She added: 'The success of [the] Pharmacy First service is very much dependent on GP referrals and we need to move toward a pull model where patients can self-refer rather than a push model where GPs refer.'

'Significant scope for more referrals from general practices and NHS 111'

Responding to The Pharmacist's analysis of the August figures earlier this week, Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at Community Pharmacy England, said there was 'still significant scope for more referrals from general practices and NHS 111'.

'The service can only help alleviate the pressure on general practices if they refer appropriate patients to pharmacies and we continue to encourage all practices to engage with the service,' he said.

And he said the NHS needed to provide more support to general practices to ensure Pharmacy First referrals are made.