Sheffield’s Primary Care Pharmacy Programme was one of 16 pilot schemes designed to improve access to general practice developed by Primary Care Sheffield and funded by the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund. The pharmacy programme was the first of its kind nationally to achieve almost universal uptake by GPs throughout a large city and the success of other schemes sees us regularly called upon for advice and guidance by other areas of the country hoping to emulate our model.

A mixed methods study evaluating the 12 month pharmacy programme has now been published in the British Journal of General Practice and is available to read here.

The pharmacy programme was delivered by Primary Care Sheffield working in partnership with NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group and findings reveal the potential for Pharmacist and GP joint-working to increase positive perceptions of healthcare delivery and reduce fragmented care, and can inform future implementation at scale and at practice level.

Since the pilot and building upon the relationships and learning it established, Primary Care Sheffield led a successful bid on behalf of the city’s practices for the NHS England Clinical Pharmacist in General Practice Programme, which aims to support practices in employing a pharmacist to work in a patient facing role within the surgery. More information on this programme, (including patient leaflets on the services provided by a clinical pharmacist) is available here.