Preparing for Pharmacy First/ Common Conditions Service

Although the service specifications have not yet been published, it is understood that a series of PGDs will enable pharmacists to treat seven common conditions, supplying medicines including antibiotics where necessary.

To make sure Pharmacists are ready to deliver, consider the following:

Train staff – including pharmacy technicians

Any staff delivering patients consultations should undertake consultation skills training.

(The NPA expects pharmacy technicians to be able to operate under PGDs soon following the government’s consultation).

Consider completing:

• CPPE Common Clinical Conditions and Minor Ailments
• CPPE Consultation Skills

Make sure you have the right insurance

‘Don't automatically assume that whatever you do within your pharmacy is already covered by the insurance,’ Superintendent pharmacists should contact their insurance provider to check that the common conditions service would be covered.

Get your premises and IT ready

‘It goes without saying, you need a computer in your consultation room. If you haven't got one, get one’.

Get protocols in place, and plan to record consent, incidents and feedback

Make sure you have the right protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place around the sales of medicines.

Have SOPs in place to get consent from patients, especially given that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Provider Assurance Team (PAT) is now undertaking post-payment verification for the hypertension case-finding service.

Consider adapting the dispensing incident form to be able to record any incidents that happened during a consultation.