Community Pharmacy Hertfordshire committee member Mohamed Moledina has said his pharmacy in Stevenage has not had one Pharmacy First referral from local surgeries since its launch in January and insisted GPs in the area still do not understand the service.

Moledina (pictured), who works at Archer Pharmacy and is also Stevenage North Primary Care Network’s pharmacy lead, said the service has been “slower” than he thought it would be and revealed all the patients he has seen so far for Pharmacy First consultations have come into his pharmacy for over-the-counter medicines.

He insisted he has given presentations at GP practices to enlighten them about the service but insisted GPs are still failing to use Pharmacy First. Moledina stressed his views were based on his personal experience and were not the views of Stevenage North Primary Care Network or Community Pharmacy Hertfordshire. 

“It’s been slower than I thought, mainly because we’ve had no referrals from the local surgeries. All the patients we’ve seen so far have been patients coming in for over-the-counter medication and we’ve been able to help them,” he said.

“A lady came in for cystitis sachets and we were able to prescribe her antibiotics for a UTI. I’m the PCN lead in my area and I’ve been into the GP practices and done presentations about the service and they have no idea about it. They aren’t utilising the service.”

Moledina, who is a Numark member, said GP referrals would help him manage his and his team’s time more effectively. Without referrals, he warned, he has “no idea” how many patients he could end up seeing.

“It’s unfair that in some areas, GPs are on board and the pharmacists are getting a steady stream of referrals, and in some areas the GPs don’t get it and aren’t using the service, where we could be seeing patients and relieving pressure on them,” he said.

“We need steady referrals so we can manage time effectively. This will allow us to increase staffing levels, but we can’t do that when we’ve no idea how many people we can expect to be seeing.”

Moledina also expressed his dismay at the hurried nature of Pharmacy First’s implementation.

“They dropped the news in December, which is a busy period anyway, and a time in which people take holidays so they essentially gave us January to get up to speed,” he said.

“It’s not at all reasonable. There’s not been any standardised course, so it was up to individual pharmacists to decide what they need.

“Who else gets told to do a job with no explanation of what they’ll need to do and what it will entail? We need a standardised NHS course, and every pharmacist should be eligible.

“We’ve had to do most of it ourselves and materials we’ve had access including resources and guidance that we get as a benefit through our Numark membership.”

Have you had similar experiences with Pharmacy First? Get in touch by emailing neil.trainis@1530.com