The approved list of products for the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland Service has been updated from the 1st April 2025.

The Scottish Government has published its NHS Operational Improvement Plan, which describes how the commitments outlined in the First Minister’s January speech will be delivered. In his speech, First Minister John Swinney announced plans to make it easier for people to see a first point of contact with the NHS, for example a community pharmacist. The Operational Improvement Plan states that the Scottish Government will further expand the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service, enabling community pharmacists to treat a greater number of clinical conditions.

The approved list of products for the NHS Pharmacy First Scotland Service has been updated from the 1st March 2025.

Do you have questions about NHS Pharmacy First Scotland / NHS PFS Plus and or the UCF Module?

The Scottish Government have updated the NHS Pharmacy First Approved List and to follow national prescribing guidance Simple Linctus sugar-free and Simple Linctus Paediatric sugar-free have now been removed from this list.

We have been working with Scottish Government and NHS colleagues on trying to capture Pharmacy First Plus prescribing, advice and referrals data to better evidence the great work being done out in the network – at the moment, this cannot be separated out from standard Pharmacy First activity.

This Circular advises Health Boards and community pharmacy contractors of updated Patient Group Directions (PGDs) that are to be implemented for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI) and impetigo under NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

This circular informs NHS Boards and community pharmacy contractors of the intention to establish a combined National Foundation Programme and Independent Prescriber (IP) Career Pathway for community pharmacists.