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Five new conditions are being added to Pharmacy First from the autumn, with acne, migraines, scabies, ear infections, and rhinitis all to come under the expanded service specification.

In full, the new consultations that will be reimbursed under Pharmacy First are:

• Low frequency episodic migraine in adults
• Seasonal allergic rhinitis in children
• Acute otitis externa in adults
• Mild to moderate acne in young people and adults
• Mild skin and soft tissue infections and scabies.

Along with the existing Pharmacy First conditions and the Pharmacy Contraception Service, these will form part of a national pharmacy prescribing service from the autumn, which NHS England said will be available from “the initial small number of community pharmacies that become a prescribing pharmacy in 2026/27”.

Negotiator Community Pharmacy England has warned that with no dedicated funding for prescribing, the initiative has been “set up to fail” as things stand and said individual contractors must decide whether signing up is worth it for their business.

Announcing the service expansion, NHSE said it would help ease pressure on the wider health service ahead of anticipated high levels of winter demand, adding that there have been 14 million Pharmacy First consultations since the service first launched.

NHSE primary care services director Dr Amanda Doyle said: Thanks to community pharmacy teams, millions of people have received treatment for common conditions quickly and conveniently on their local high streets with the NHS determined to make it as easy as possible for people to get help.

“As the NHS steps up winter preparations, we want to make sure that patients can get as much support as possible in their communities, so they do not have to be admitted to hospital unnecessarily.

“That’s why participating pharmacies will start offering help for new common conditions such as acne, migraines and ear infections – without needing to get a GP appointment first – so they’re freed up for people who need them most in the colder months.”

Prime minister Andy Burnham described the development as “change families will feel in their day-to-day,” while Community Pharmacy England chief Janet Morrison said it “will make better use of pharmacists’ expertise” and “paves the way for pharmacists to be core community clinicians”.

Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said the expansion was “an important step” but warned that success “will depend on implementation at scale, allowing patient behaviours to change at a national level”. Mr Harrison added: “The funding identified is likely insufficient for the wider adoption needed for change.

“Independent prescribing services need to be sustainable and enable enough pharmacies to take part that allows the whole workforce to evolve.”

National Pharmacy Association chief Henry Gregg noted that Pharmacy First Scotland offers access to advice and treatment for 27 conditions, commenting: "Pharmacies are still under significant financial pressures and this just shows why the Government should go much further and invest in our pharmacy network that has the power to transform people’s experience of everyday health issues."