NHS Operational Improvement Plan: NHS Pharmacy First Expansion

Published: 02/04/25

The Scottish Government has published its NHS Operational Improvement Plan, which describes how the commitments outlined in the First Minister’s January speech will be delivered. In his speech, First Minister John Swinney announced plans to make it easier for people to see a first point of contact with the NHS, for example a community pharmacist. The Operational Improvement Plan states that the Scottish Government will further expand the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service, enabling community pharmacists to treat a greater number of clinical conditions via PGD and preventing the need for a GP visit – with the first expansion by November 2025. Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) have already entered into funding negotiations for 2025/26 with the Scottish Government and this proposed expansion will be a point of discussion.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) data shows that over one third of the Scottish population access the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service every year. We are delighted to see that our network's huge contribution to patient care is being noticed by government and expansion sought to deliver even more care through our reliable network. We look forward to discussions around the sustainable resourcing that will be required to achieve the Scottish Government's ambitions. 

This is the first of three policy documents which the Scottish Government has committed to publishing around the plans to renew and reform Scotland’s NHS. CPS looks forward to analysing the two further documents, set to be released in the first half of 2025, and to working closely with Scottish Government colleagues to ensure the community pharmacy network can support outlined plans which also bring value to our members. 

If you have any enquiries, please contact the policy team at enquiries@cps.scot.

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