Timeline of the developing role of pharmacists in UK primary care
| When | Report/policy released5–8 | Outcomes generated |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Nuffield Report highlights dramatic underutilisation of UK pharmacists6 | Suggestions that collaboration between GPs and pharmacists could improve effectiveness and reduce costs of prescribing |
| 1990s | NHS health reforms result in the allocation of drug budgets to individual health authorities | Interest from general practice to use clinical pharmacists within primary care |
| 2005 | NHS Community Pharmacy contract | Increases the range of services community pharmacists can provide |
| 2008 | The pharmacy workforce census | Seven per cent of pharmacists are already working within general practices or for local health authorities |
| 2015 | NHS England, the General Practitioners Committee of the BMA, Health Education England, and the Royal College of General Practitioners reveal their Ten Point GP Workforce Action Plan 8 | The Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice Pilot aims to utilise pharmacists’ knowledge and expertise surrounding medications, in order to complement the knowledge and roles of GPs and practice nurses in general practice surgeries |
| 2017 | RCGP GP Forward View Interim Report 8 | NHS England reports that >85% of pharmacy professionals have received training in the use of the patient Summary Care Record, and that all pharmacists will have received training by March 2017 |
| By 2040 | The Centre for Workforce Intelligence | Estimates that oversupply of pharmacists could reach 11 000–19 000 due to increased numbers of pharmacy students over the last decade |