Request

I wondered if the NHS BSA holds a list of pharmacies that have registered to provide Pharmacy First? I know NHSBSA publishes the monthly contractor dispensing data (https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/prescription-data/dispensing-data/dispensing-contractors-data), which shows claims for Pharmacy First. But I wanted to know if there is a way of working out if the pharmacies that have claimed for zero Pharmacy First consultations have (a) registered to provide the service but not conducted any consultations, or (b) have not registered to provide the service.

On 16 September 2024, you clarified your request as follows your answers to our questions are in italics:

1.Please provide a date range for your request, for example is it from the start of Pharmacy First to the latest information held?

Yes, for each month from February 2024 to the most recent month

2.Do you require only active Pharmacies or include those that have ceased during the above date range?

Active pharmacies for each month from February 2024 to the most recent month. If this is not possible, then the number of current active pharmacies and the number that have ceased between 31 January 2024 and the most recent date available.

1. Do you require a list of pharmacies and then:

• ODS Code

• ICB

• Pharmacy Name and address

• Registered (Y/N)

• Zero Consultations (Y/N)

Yes please, and can you provide this for each month that is available, starting February 2024

Response

ICB and Contractors with Zero Consultations

Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. Information on which ICB contractors belong to, and the number of Pharmacy First consultations delivered, including those which delivered zero, can be found at the below web link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/prescription-data/dispensing-data/dispensing-contractors-data

The report can be found by clicking “+Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data”. Within the data, columns AK to AS show the number of Pharmacy First consultations. Please see below regarding data we’ve supplied which shows which contractors were registered. Cross referencing each ODS code to the spread sheet will show you which ICB each contractor belongs to.

Please note that the data published at the above web link is published on a monthly basis. The data currently available covers up to June 2024. The above web link also provides a timetable for future publication.

Remaining Information

The NHSBSA notifies NHS England of the pharmacies which should be registered for Pharmacy First, including all pharmacies in the above two cohorts. The records we hold show which pharmacies wished to be onboarded, or ones which should be migrated who delivered CPCS, but it is NHS England which holds the master version of which pharmacies are actually registered.

Lastly, the data showing those which were “deregistered” is similarly a list of pharmacies which had signalled their intention to deregister, and the date which they notified us of such. Again, the NHSBSA informs NHS England of these intentions, and they hold the complete list of pharmacies which have been deregistered.

In light of the above, I am writing to advise you that the information you requested on which pharmacies are registered/deregistered is not held by the NHSBSA.

If you wish to receive the data showing those which expressed a wish to be registered/deregistered, please let us know and we can supply this information.

Advice and Assistance

NHS England may hold the information you require. They can be contacted at:

NHS England

PO Box 16738

Redditch

B97 9PT

Telephone 0300 311 22 33

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net

Web http://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/foi/