Total service claims for episodes of the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) topped 750,000 in the 12 months to May 2022, according to the latest data from the NHS Business Services Agency. At £14 per episode, CPCS is now a £10 million per annum service. Analysis by PharmData reveals that more than 83,500 episodes of the service were claimed for in each of April and May 2022, a new monthly high. 

Figure 1 shows the average number of claims per pharmacy over the past 12 months, grouped by integrated care system locality. The 146 pharmacies in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire lead the way, with an average of almost 200 claims in the year to May 2022. This is almost double the next highest area; the 93 pharmacies in Somerset claimed for an average of 116 CPCS episodes. The top five claiming areas and the bottom five are shown in Tables 1 and 2. 

Distance selling pharmacies (DSPs) recorded an average 17.7 CPCS episodes over the same period. 

CPCS numbers in all areas are growing strongly. Growth year on year is highest in Somerset, where almost 11 times as many CPCSs were completed in the year to May 2022, compared to the year to May 2021. More than nine times as many CPCSs were completed in Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire in the same period. Even in the lowest growth area, Coventry and Warwickshire, more than three times as many CPCSs were completed in the year to May 2022 compared with the prior year. 

PharmData analyses the GP referral pathway for CPCS separately, as a subset of total CPCS data. They only have data to March 2022 in this class, but even here, most areas are seeing strong growth in numbers of service episodes, although there are a few areas where roll out appears to be stalled. 

Figure 2 shows the average number of GP-CPCS claims per pharmacy over the 12 months to March 2022 by integrated care system locality.

The almost 300 pharmacies in Kent and Medway lead the way, with more than 34 claims each. Fewest claims were made in North Central London, where more than 250 pharmacies claimed fewer than nine each. 

The top five and bottom five claiming areas are shown in Tables 3 and 4. 

DSPs recorded an average of 2.5 episodes over the same period. 

Like total CPCS, GP-CPCS episodes are growing. According to PharmData analysis, total growth year on year across England is just over 40 per cent.

Average numbers of episodes per pharmacy more than doubled in nine areas, led by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (165 per cent more GP-CPCS in the year to March 2022 compared to the previous year). In one area, Norfolk and Waveney, average numbers of GP-CPCS episodes per pharmacy fell. 

Individual site reporting

PharmData has also begun to analyse total GP-CPCS data by individual pharmacy and surgery site. Pharmacy Republic in Nuneaton had made the greatest number of claims by the end of March 2022, with 554 – ahead of Cameolord Pharmacy in Central Manchester, which had made 388. 

The top 10 pharmacies for GP-CPCS claims to date are shown in Table 5.

Surgery data is slightly complicated by the presence of multisite surgeries, but Regis Medical Centre in Rowley Regis in the West Midlands is recorded as having made the greatest number of referrals to date, with 700 – including 55 in May and 44 in April 2021. 

Interestingly, 28 pharmacies were the recipients of the 55 GP-CPCS referrals in May 2021. Two – Portway Pharmacy and Tividale Pharmacy – had nine each; 20 different pharmacies received just one referral each. The top 10 surgeries for GP-CPCS referrals to date are shown in Table 6. 

When it comes to total CPCS episodes, some 38 pharmacies made more than 1,000 claims in the year to May 2022, with Faith Pharmacy in Hulme, Manchester (located close to Manchester’s universities), leading the way with more than 5,000 claims. Three pharmacies made more than 3,000 claims, and a further six more than 2,000. 

PharmData combines official statistics with web presentation technology to monitor key service and business indicators. Further information at www.p3pharmacy.co.uk/pharmdata