Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
A trial scheme which enables pharmacists to prescribe NHS medicines directly to patients for a range of additional illnesses, without them needing to see their GP, is to be extended at three Nottinghamshire pharmacies.
Four independent prescriber pharmacists in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and 200 pharmacists across the whole of England have been taking part in the Community Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme.
The trial has been a success, with around 1,000 consultations taking place for people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire experiencing on the day illness. In a small patient survey, the service was rated as 5 out of 5 by 97% of patients.
NHS England national funding for the trial will come to an end on 31st December 2025. But to help tackle NHS winter pressures and to train the Pharmacy workforce, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB has agreed to extend the scheme at three of the pharmacies until 31st March 2026. They are:
This means that patients can continue to receive NHS treatments for on the day illness, including chest infections, earache for adults and children aged one and over, oral thrush and skin infections, plus many others at these Community Pharmacies.
Patients are advised to call ahead or ask in the pharmacy to find out about these additional services and check availability.
From September 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers. This means they will have completed additional training to allow them to write prescriptions. To prepare for this change, NHS England commissioned the trial to help work out the best way to make use of pharmacists’ growing skills.
Emma Anderson of Evans Pharmacy in East Leake, Nottinghamshire is one of the pharmacists taking part in the Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme.
She said: “My motivation for training as a prescriber after qualifying as a pharmacist, was a desire to increase access to care for on the day illness. During the pandemic recovery, I was frustrated that I could not do more for people.
“Independent prescribing in community pharmacy allows me to work with the person to make decisions based on their preferences and my abilities to prescribe to support them. This allows improved access to care for a mixture of people that GPs have referred and those who have booked directly via the pharmacy.
“I am grateful for the support of Dr Asifa Akhtar and the GPs at Village Health Group for their clinical supervision and support.”
This Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme is in addition to the Pharmacy First scheme, which is widely available at community pharmacies across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Pharmacy First can provide NHS treatments for seven common conditions without needing to see a GP.
