A £2.4m government research grant has been awarded to academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LHSTM) to assess the impact of Pharmacy First over a three-year period, paying “particular attention” to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issues.

The LHSTM researchers are tasked with generating evidence on the service, looking at take-up by pharmacies, safety, equity, cost-effectiveness and “acceptability,” as well as considering the service’s impact on antibiotic use and AMR, with most of the current Pharmacy First PGDs potentially leading to a prescription for antibiotics for eligible patients.

The team will work alongside the UK Health Security Agency and the universities of Oxford, Manchester and Nottingham to evaluate the service, in addition to partnering with co-researchers from communities that have historically been “medically underserved” and have tended to be marginalised in previous research projects. The grant was awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Rebecca Glover, an assistant professor in AMR at LHSTM and co-lead on the project, said: “I am delighted to lead this complex three-year Pharmacy First evaluation, where we will evaluate Pharmacy First’s impact on GPs and the wider NHS, pharmacy services and patients.

“Our team has expertise in evaluating complex policy interventions, such as the last two UK Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plans, so alongside expert external colleagues, we will pay particular attention to the impact of Pharmacy First on antibiotic prescribing and resistance across the health system.”