The number of pharmacists working in general practices and primary care networks in England increased by 24.5% between December 2022 and December 2023, quarterly statistics from NHS Digital have revealed.

And the number of pharmacy technicians working in general practice and PCNs in England has risen by over 40% since December 2022, the statistics reported by practices and PCNs indicated.

A total of 6,874 full-time-equivalent (FTE) pharmacists were working in general practice and PCNs in December 2023 – up from 5,522 in December 2022 and 4,684 in December 2021, according to the figures from the National Workforce Reporting Service (NWRS).

Meanwhile, the number of FTE advanced pharmacist practitioners – a role added to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) in April 2021 – rose from 606 in December 2022 to 707 in December 2023 – a 16.7% increase.

In December 2023, there were 2,292 pharmacy technicians working in general practice and PCNs in England. This is 40.4% higher than the 1,633 pharmacy technicians working in general practice and PCNs in December 2022, and 132% more than the 989 in December 2021.

Community pharmacy leaders have previously suggested that the recruitment of pharmacists into GP surgeries and PCNs under the ARRS ‘has directly led to the shortfall of community pharmacists in England’.

And today Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), reiterated calls for ARRS-like funding to be made available for roles in community pharmacy.

She told The Pharmacist: 'If the NHS bosses are truly committed to accessible care to patients then they would provide an ARRS funding scheme for community pharmacies where the sector can invest in our workforce and host multidisciplinary teams to improve better access to care and more convenience for patients.'

Meanwhile Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), suggested that NHS England's recruitment of pharmacists into GP surgeries and PCNs 'continues at pace apparently without consideration for the impact it has on the hospital and community pharmacy workforce'.

And he suggested that the current workforce crisis in community pharmacy was 'driven largely' by the ARRS.

He added: 'The recent NHS Long Term Workforce plan recognised that the expansion of ARRS would be "carefully managed" to account for the additional training of pharmacists. We have yet to see any detail of how this will be undertaken in practice.

'Moreover, the plan outlines an ambition to expand training places for pharmacists by 29% to around 4,300 by 2028/29. However, no corresponding measures have been enacted to increase the pipeline of new pharmacy students to fill those places.

'The sector needs action now to address the current shortage of community pharmacists but also to ensure the future workforce is fit for purpose, especially if we are to realise the increasingly clinical future the NHS and government wish to see.'

Speaking to a community pharmacy conference recently, practice pharmacist and partner in a general practice Dr Graham Stretch acknowledged the impact that ARRS has had on the community pharmacy workforce, and suggested that practices and community pharmacies could work together to offer attractive clinical roles for pharmacists.

Today he said: 'Naturally I welcome the expansion of the GP/PCN pharmacy workforce ensuring patients have access to pharmacy expertise in all settings.'

'In the same period the GPhC register of pharmacists in England has grown by 1,576 which is more than the growth in GP/PCN numbers,' he noted.