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A public-facing advertising campaign that ran from November to December 2024 saw the public’s intention to use the service reach just under 40 per cent, pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock has said.  

Responding on Monday February 9 to a written question from Liberal Democrat business spokesperson Saral Olney MP, Mr Kinnock said data from the 2024 campaign showed that “public intention to use the pharmacy if they experienced any of the Pharmacy First conditions increased from 32 per cent to 37 per cent”.

The 2024 data also indicated public knowledge that the seven clinical pathway conditions can be treated by pharmacies rose from 71 per cent to 79 per cent and that trust in the advice given by pharmacy teams rose from 61 per cent to 70 per cent, Mr Kinnock said. 

The minister commented: “This positive shift in people’s attitudes is reflected through an increased use of the Pharmacy First service.  

“There were 198,794 completed clinical pathways in October 2024, the month before the advertising campaign. 

“This increased to 259,323 completed clinical pathways during December 2024.”

Mr Kinnock said that work is currently underway to evaluate the impact of the most recent Pharmacy First advertising campaign, which ran from October 2, 2025 to January 4 this year. 

Company Chemists’ Association chief Malcolm Harrison said: “Pharmacy First continues to be a success, with strong year-on-year growth. Data shows that the majority of consultations are patient initiated walk-ins, with only a modest increase in GP referrals.  

“This indicates that driving awareness is likely to have a bigger impact on overall uptake.”

Mr Harrison said that in order to drive uptake, the service “needs a broader, sustained pubic promotional campaign,” adding that introducing more conditions and incorporating independent prescribing “to broaden eligibility for each condition” would mean more people are treated, which he said would “naturally drive public awareness.

“This would embed pharmacy as the first port of call for routine primary care,” he said as he cited CCA modelling that suggests these changes could also free up as many as 40 million GP appointments each year.   

Related: Pharmacy First advertising spend revealed 

Pharmacy First take up ‘not what we would like’ says minister 

Labour ‘expects’ £215m Pharmacy First budget to be spent – but makes no guarantees