NHS England published updated service specifications for Pharmacy First and the Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) on 29 October 2026, according to Community Pharmacy England (CPE).

What has happened

CPE says prescribing is being added to both services, so the specifications needed updating. It says it worked with NHS England over the last few months to agree those amendments and some other changes.

Pharmacy First specification

CPE describes the amendments, apart from the prescribing content, as largely minor. It says the largest addition is enhanced guidance on urgent medicines supplies. According to CPE, this reflects the emergency supply requirements of the Human Medicines Regulations that already apply to urgent supplies under the service, so it does not represent new requirements.

CPE lists these other additions:

  • SOP, business continuity and governance requirements have been expanded, including expectations on training, record keeping and equipment maintenance.
  • Requirements for face-to-face, remote and distance-selling consultations have been clarified, including the use of video consultations.
  • There are new requirements preventing pharmacy owners from generating, submitting or otherwise creating referrals on behalf of patients, except in very exceptional circumstances.
  • Requirements on record keeping, access to patient records, information sharing, conflicts of interest and consultation outcomes have been strengthened and clarified.
  • Monitoring and post-payment verification requirements have been expanded, including clearer expectations on evidence, verification, data quality and the recovery of payments where claims cannot be substantiated.
  • The specification highlights new community pharmacy e-learning on NEWS2.

CPE says many of these changes align with wording already used in other Advanced service specifications.

Pharmacy Contraception Service specification

CPE says that, as well as prescribing content, the updated PCS specification includes other minor amendments:

  • Requirements on promoting the service have been clarified, including a reminder that pharmacy owners must comply with Terms of Service requirements on promoting services, including the need to clearly identify the service as NHS-funded.
  • Requirements on blood pressure and BMI assessments have been clarified, including the use of recent measurements when determining suitability for treatment.
  • The recommended training programmes now include the CPPE e-learning “transgender healthcare: consulting with dignity and respect”.

Why it matters

CPE says pharmacy owners providing the services should read the updated specifications and consider whether any updates are required to their SOPs, governance arrangements and operational processes. It says community pharmacists providing the services should amend their practice where required to follow the new requirements.

According to CPE, the Pharmacy First changes include clearer expectations on the recovery of payments where claims cannot be substantiated.