Pharmacy First: Feedback from residents and Mystery Shopping findings
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Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham undertook mystery shopping of 18 local pharmacies and a survey to assess the Pharmacy First service. 154 people responded.
Overall, the findings suggest that the Pharmacy First service is generally well received by those who use it, with high satisfaction levels and many residents reporting that their symptoms were resolved quickly and conveniently without the need for a GP appointment. Mystery shopping visits also showed that pharmacies are largely able to provide walk-in consultations, private consultation spaces, and clinical assessments by pharmacists, demonstrating the service’s potential to improve access to care for common minor illnesses.
However, the research also highlights several areas for improvement. Awareness of the service remains inconsistent, with a significant proportion of residents still unaware of Pharmacy First, and promotion within pharmacies varies widely. Some residents also expressed limited confidence in pharmacists compared with GPs, and mystery shopping identified occasional uncertainty among counter staff about the service criteria.