Pharmacy: what people want

Healthwatch England undertook research to understand people's attitudes towards pharmacy at the outset of Pharmacy First.  They undertook a nationally representative poll of adults in England and commissioned 12 local Healthwatch to carry out interviews with the public and with pharmacists.

Community pharmacies are very widely used, with 72% of people having used one in the past three months. 

Online pharmacies are much less used, with 18% using one in the past three months. 54% of people who have used an online pharmacy at some point said they would be likely to do so again. 

People value the accessibility of community pharmacies, both in terms of the ease of getting to one and the speed of being seen once there.

 Almost one in four, 24%, have experienced shortages when trying to get medicine, and 42% have experienced problems getting medicine. 

There are positive signs for the success of Pharmacy First. People were already open to the idea of going to a pharmacy rather than a GP for the seven conditions before the service was launched and are open to the idea of seeing a pharmacist rather than a GP more generally. 

Pharmacy First faces some challenges. A small proportion of the population is less open to going to a pharmacy rather than a GP. This is due to their personal preference, while in some cases, due to a lack of awareness of the services pharmacies offer.

 Although 90% of prescriptions in England are dispensed free of charge, the cost-of-living crisis impacts pharmacy usage, with five per cent of people saying they have avoided taking up one or more NHS prescriptions because of the price.

The report includes eight recommendations.