Pharmacy First

The NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service (which replaces the Minor Ailments Service) launched in July 2020.

NHS Pharmacy First PCA (please note that Annex E Approved List has now been replaced with the Approved list below)
NHS Pharmacy First Approved List of Products (the link is found halfway down the screen under the ‘Approved Items’ section on this NSS webpage)
Privacy Notice (a copy of this must be displayed in your pharmacy)
NHS Pharmacy First – Information for Patients (leaflets translated into many languages including Ukrainian)

What is Pharmacy First?

Please watch our Pharmacy First video developed by NHS Lothian

Essential Information

We know there’s a lot of information in this section, so if you’ve just joined community pharmacy and need to get up to speed quickly, read these TOP 4 documents….

“Pharmacy First” and “The Changing World of Pharmacy First” presentations – also stored below in ‘Toolkit’ section
Pharmacy First Approved List on the National Services Scotland website
Fact Sheet – ‘Are you getting shortchanged’ – also stored below in ‘Fact Sheet’ section

TURAS has a wealth of Pharmacy First training resources too.

GP Signposting

Please click here for the information that has been sent to GP practices about the Pharmacy First service. This document includes reference to GP signposting guidance which has been sent out to practices to help them triage patients before directing them to community pharmacies. You may find this guide useful to highlight when you should also be referring patients to GP surgeries.

Patient Information Leaflets

Patient information leaflets in several languages are now available on the Scottish Government website to help patients learn more about this service: https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-pharmacy-first-scotland-information-patients/documents/

PGDs

The Pharmacy First service also currently includes 9 PGDs for the treatment of impetigo, uncomplicated UTI, skin infections, shingles and hayfever. See details below for the current PGDs and related documents:

Impetigo

PGD for Fusidic Acid 2% Cream (review date August 2024)

Impetigo patient assessment form (review date August 2024)

GP notification form

Uncomplicated UTI

PGD for Trimethoprim

PGD for Nitrofurantoin (please note that this is second line treatment in NHS Lothian)

UTI patient assessment form

GP notification form

Optometry Referrals

The Scottish Government has released an updated circular – PCA(O)(2023)05 & PCA(P)(2023)45 – which provides updated guidance aimed at both community optometry and community pharmacy teams, and an updated Patient Referral Form for the assessment and treatment of minor eye conditions on the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service.

These documents can also be accessed via the NHS Scotland’s website for eye care professionals:

NHS Pharmacy First Scotland (eyes.scot)

Minor Injuries Unit / A&E Referrals

When deciding whether to refer a patient to either the Minor Injuries Unit at WGH, or to A&E, you may find this Summary of Inclusion Criteria useful.

Toolkit for Community Pharmacies

We have put together a ‘toolkit’ to help community pharmacies record and get recognition for all the relevant Advice only, Referral and Treatment interactions that happen every day:

Flow Chart summarizing all possible consultation outcomes for Pharmacy First and Pharmacy First Plus
Patient Consultation Forms can be used to record the details required to put your consultations through UCF.
Pharmacy First – Daily Numbers Tracker can be used by the pharmacy team to record a tally/number of interactions every day to show trends.

Pharmacy First – Monthly Numbers Tracker can be used by the pharmacy team to record the total number of interactions month by month across the year to show trends.
Pharmacy First Questionnaire can be used by the pharmacy team to help analyze and improve processes and highlight any training needs.
Patient Referral Form – you should ideally be using the SBAR facility within the PCR system to record details of any Pharmacy First consultation with a patient which ends in referral. If you unable to use it for technical reasons, however, you can print off and use a general patient referral form here.
“Pharmacy First” presentation (updated October 2023) gives an overview of the Pharmacy First service and helpful tips, and can be used to train new pharmacy staff.
“The Changing World of Pharmacy First” (March 2024) gives an overview of the latest PGD changes, information on referral routes, info on claiming for consultations, and a comparison of the England and Scotland PF services.
GP Teams Signposting guidance – for the latest signposting guidance that GP Teams should be following when triaging patients to decide whether appropriate to refer to pharmacies, please see the GP Practice Guidance document here on the NSS website.
Need to order more Pharmacy First booklets for patients or Pharmacy First posters? Use this list to see what’s available, and email your request to the APS Group (who produce promotional information on behalf of the NHS) at: stockorders.DPPAS@theapsgroup.com

Quick Reference Fact Sheets for Pharmacy Teams

To help pharmacy teams train new staff members and refresh existing staff members’ knowledge, we have produced the quick reference one page Fact Sheets on common ailments treatable via Pharmacy First – see below for copies. Please note that the product recommendations from the Pharmacy First Approved List mentioned in these Fact Sheets may have been updated since then – always check the latest version of the Approved List on the NSS website here.