Thousands of patients across the North West will receive quicker, more convenient access to NHS care from their high street pharmacy, thanks to a major expansion of services under a radical plan to improve access to primary care.

For the first time ever, patients who need medication for seven common conditions including earache, sore throat, or urinary tract infections, will be able to get some prescriptions directly from a pharmacy later this year without a GP appointment, thanks to government investment of £645 million over two years to expand community pharmacy services.

Published today by the NHS and the government, the new blueprint sets out actions to improve access to care, better support patients to manage their own health, and to modernise general practice for future generations.

Across the country, almost half a million women will no longer need to speak to a practice nurse or GP to access oral contraception and will instead be able to pop into their local pharmacy for it.

Thanks to the expertise of the people working in community pharmacy, we expect that, tens of thousands more people will be able to access important blood pressure checks in their local pharmacy, lowering the risk of a heart attack or stroke, with the NHS more than doubling the number of people able to access these tests to 2.5 million, up from 900,000 carried out last year.

In September 2022, 2,500 people from the North West region were referred by their GP to have a blood pressure check by their local pharmacy team and the number is growing month on month and regional leads would like to see 50,000 checks a year carried out in pharmacies.  In addition, in April this year, 6,522 people were referred by their GP practice to see a local pharmacist, as part of the Community Pharmacy Consultation Service, for expert help on a range of everyday conditions, health checks and medicines advice.

The actions set out in the plan are expected to free up around 15 million GP appointments across the country over the next two years for patients who need them most.

A key part of the plan is ending the morning rush for appointments, with an aspiration that no patient will have to wait on hold or be asked to call back another day for help.  This will be supported by investment in better phone technology for GP teams enabling them to manage multiple calls and redirect them to other specialists, such as pharmacists and mental health practitioners, if more suitable. During trials, this has increased patients’ ability to get through to their practice by almost a third.

We will also build on the hard work and investment already put in place at a GP practice level by providing extra training for colleagues answering calls at GP practices, so that people who need to see their family doctor are prioritised while those who would be better seen by other staff such as physiotherapists or mental health specialists are able to bypass their GP.

In the run up to the NHS’ 75^th milestone birthday on 5 July, the new plan aims to support primary care services to continue to adapt and innovate to meet patients’ needs, with nine in ten people able to access their GP records, including test results, on the NHS App within the next year.

Demand for access is going to continue to increase with the number of people over 70, who are five times more likely to need a GP appointment than teenagers, growing by a third since 2010.

GP teams are already treating record numbers, with half a million more appointments delivered every week compared to pre-pandemic.  In February 2023 3.3 million people across the North West had a GP appointment, up by 9% compared to March 2019.

In a significant new step, up to half a million people a year will be able to self-refer for key services, including physiotherapy, hearing tests, and podiatry, without seeing their GP first.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive said: “The care and support people receive from their local GP is rightly highly valued by patients and so it is essential that we make it as easy as possible for people to get the help they need.

“GPs and their teams are working incredibly hard to deal with unprecedented demand for appointments. But with an ageing population, we know we need to further expand and transform the way we provide care for our local communities and make these services fit for the future.

“Today, we are setting out an ambitious package of measures to do just that – with pharmacies playing a central role in managing the nation’s health including providing lifesaving checks and medication for common conditions for the first time.

“This blueprint will help us to free up millions of appointments for those who need them most, as well as supporting staff so that they can do less admin and spend more time with patients.

“Over the last 75 years, the NHS has always innovated and adapted to meet the needs of each generation and as we approach the 75^th birthday, we are doing that for primary care services – providing easy and convenient care as close to home as possible.”

Dr Paula Cowan is Medical Director for primary care services in the North West and a GP based in Wirral and said:  “Over the last few years, and particularly throughout the pandemic, primary care services including General Practice and Pharmacy have had to change, introducing new ways to care for patients, many of which have delivered significant improvements to services. GP and pharmacy teams are continuing to play an important part in the recovery of NHS services following the Covid-19 pandemic.  GP practices are offering thousands more appointments in a variety of different ways compared to before the pandemic and the range of services available in high-street pharmacies has expanded further.

“We’ve got more people in our communities with complex and chronic long-term conditions, and we need to look at how we can expand access to services to keep them well and minimise health problems.  Doing more of the same won’t solve the problems  people may be experiencing with accessing services, we’ve got to look at doing things differently – introducing new roles in primary care might mean that in some cases you won’t see a GP, you may see a physiotherapist to help with back problems or a mental health practitioner to help with stress, anxiety or depression or a health coach to advise of lifestyle management, weight exercise and cholesterol.  And it makes perfect sense for GP and pharmacy services to work together, making better use of skills.

“The increases we’ve seen in the number of people getting an appointment are down to introducing new ways of working – and I think are an important part of providing a modern primary care service. However, new changes can take time to roll out and won’t happen immediately. Please work with us while we introduce new ways of supporting how we care for you”