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NHS England has instructed integrated care boards (ICBs) to ensure community pharmacies have a prominent role in the local provision of healthcare by setting out a raft of measures it wants implemented over the next three years.

In a report detailing its “medium-term planning framework” to improve local health services from 2026 to 2029, NHSE said ICBs should “embed pharmacy-first approaches” so that talks on local commissioning “utilise available pharmacy capacity”.

The report said ICBs must develop relationships between pharmacies and general practices, introduce prescribing-based services in pharmacies in 2026-27 and expand patients’ access to emergency contraception through community pharmacy.

NHSE said the discharge medicines service should be employed to a greater extent to reduce medicines harm and hospital readmissions and called for HPV vaccinations to be made available in pharmacies.

NHSE also urged ICBs to ensure all pharmacies support patients to track their prescription status using the NHS app and make sure they can request and manage their medicines online.

“ICBs must transition all messaging to NHS Notify, using NHS App-based ‘push’ notifications as the default option,” the report said.

NHSE said the measures “signalled the end of the short-termism that has held the local NHS back for so long” and will “further close the gap between the national centre” and local service provision.

CCA chief: We need clarity on the availability of DPPs

The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison welcomed the report, insisting pharmacies “are uniquely placed to provide a first port-of-call service for routine primary care”, but warned NHSE its ambition for prescribing-based services in pharmacies hinges on the availability of designated prescribing practitioners (DDPs).

The CCA has previously warned NHSE that pharmacies have struggled to find DPPs to guide pharmacy students through the 90 hours of training they need to complete before entering the register.

“It is vital that there is clarity on the availability of DPPs, to ensure minimal disruption to the community pharmacy workforce,” Harrison said.

“In order for patients to have a consistent level of service across the country, the CCA would like to see a national framework for a prescribing service, ensuring equitable access for patients nationwide.”

Nonetheless, Harrison said he was “encouraged by plans to introduce prescribing-based services during 2026-27” and suggested NHSE’s desire to “embed pharmacy-first approaches” was “a clear signal that community pharmacy is part of the way forward in delivering accessible, timely and local care”.

He added: “The success of Pharmacy First has already demonstrated the transformative potential of pharmacy-led care. Expanding the service could free up to 40 million GP appointments annually.

“The introduction of the HPV vaccination at pharmacies for women and young people who missed out on vaccination at school is another positive step.

“Community pharmacy can play an even greater role in boosting uptake across a range of vaccination programmes, rapidly increasing the access to vaccines, improving patient confidence and preventing ill health.”