Researchers from the London College of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM) have been awarded £2.4m by the Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Analysis (NIHR) to generate proof on the brand new Nationwide Well being Service (NHS) Pharmacy First service.
The service launched throughout England in January 2024 underneath the Authorities’s NHS Main Care Restoration Plan. From February 2024, taking part pharmacies will be capable of provide prescription-only medicines for seven frequent circumstances: earache, uncomplicated urinary tract infections in girls, sore throat, sinusitis, impetigo, shingles and contaminated insect bites, after session with a group pharmacist.
The analysis group will work in partnership with consultants on the UK Well being Safety Company (UKHSA) and the Universities of Oxford, Manchester, and Nottingham, to guage Pharmacy First’s take-up, security, fairness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability, in addition to its implications for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance.
I’m delighted to steer this complicated three-year Pharmacy First analysis, the place we are going to consider Pharmacy First’s impression on GPs and the broader NHS, pharmacy providers and sufferers.
Our group has experience in evaluating complicated coverage interventions, such because the final two UK Antimicrobial Resistance Nationwide Motion Plans, so alongside knowledgeable exterior colleagues, we can pay specific consideration to the impression of Pharmacy First on antibiotic prescribing and resistance throughout the well being system.”
Dr Rebecca Glover, Mission Lead, Assistant Professor in Antimicrobial Resistance at LSHTM
All through the analysis, the analysis groups will work intently with co-researchers who’re from traditionally marginalized-in-research and medically-underserved communities. Their evaluation will contribute to understanding of potential penalties of Pharmacy First for inequalities in entry to well being providers and outcomes.
At LSHTM, Dr Glover will collectively lead the venture with Professor Nicholas Mays, working alongside Drs Mirza Lalani, Agata Pacho, and Stephen O’Neill.
