Results
Overview of the patient population
This table presents the demographic characteristics of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in their GP records and the overall OpenSAFELY-TPP population.
Table 1. Description of patient population with at least one Pharmacy First consultation code (n = 340,710) and total population in OpenSAFELY-TPP (N = 26,142,380) between 2024-01-31 and 2025-01-30.
|
Pharmacy First
|
OpenSAFELY-TPP
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Count | % | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 229,190 | 67.3% | 13,011,745 | 49.8% |
| Male | 111,520 | 32.7% | 13,130,635 | 50.2% |
| Age Band | ||||
| 0-19 | 94,895 | 27.9% | 5,775,555 | 22.1% |
| 20-39 | 106,810 | 31.4% | 7,059,395 | 27.0% |
| 40-59 | 86,015 | 25.2% | 6,780,960 | 25.9% |
| 60-79 | 45,450 | 13.3% | 5,176,600 | 19.8% |
| 80+ | 7,545 | 2.2% | 1,349,865 | 5.2% |
| Region | ||||
| East | 64,230 | 18.9% | 5,929,050 | 22.7% |
| East Midlands | 45,515 | 13.4% | 4,528,605 | 17.3% |
| London | 20,615 | 6.0% | 1,757,575 | 6.7% |
| North East | 23,280 | 6.8% | 1,261,870 | 4.8% |
| North West | 26,785 | 7.9% | 2,402,230 | 9.2% |
| South East | 20,085 | 5.9% | 1,703,325 | 6.5% |
| South West | 42,345 | 12.4% | 3,633,710 | 13.9% |
| West Midlands | 15,850 | 4.7% | 1,042,385 | 4.0% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 80,785 | 23.7% | 3,791,585 | 14.5% |
| Missing | 1,225 | 0.4% | 92,045 | 0.4% |
| IMD | ||||
| 1 (Most Deprived) | 86,690 | 25.4% | 5,183,155 | 19.8% |
| 2 | 67,620 | 19.9% | 5,009,215 | 19.2% |
| 3 | 63,645 | 18.7% | 5,307,215 | 20.3% |
| 4 | 56,835 | 16.7% | 4,936,940 | 18.9% |
| 5 (Least Deprived) | 48,045 | 14.1% | 4,534,735 | 17.3% |
| Missing | 17,875 | 5.2% | 1,171,120 | 4.5% |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Bangladeshi | 2,735 | 0.8% | 172,475 | 0.7% |
| Indian | 12,355 | 3.6% | 983,510 | 3.8% |
| Pakistani | 14,720 | 4.3% | 715,395 | 2.7% |
| Any other Asian background | 7,110 | 2.1% | 581,280 | 2.2% |
| African | 7,290 | 2.1% | 641,700 | 2.5% |
| Caribbean | 1,635 | 0.5% | 136,735 | 0.5% |
| Any other Black background | 1,650 | 0.5% | 143,570 | 0.5% |
| White and Asian | 1,690 | 0.5% | 121,910 | 0.5% |
| White and African | 1,250 | 0.4% | 103,770 | 0.4% |
| White and Caribbean | 1,980 | 0.6% | 120,470 | 0.5% |
| Any other mixed background | 2,690 | 0.8% | 216,510 | 0.8% |
| Chinese | 1,160 | 0.3% | 247,465 | 0.9% |
| Any other ethnic group | 5,485 | 1.6% | 500,815 | 1.9% |
| White British | 242,975 | 71.3% | 17,532,065 | 67.1% |
| White Irish | 1,475 | 0.4% | 126,620 | 0.5% |
| Any other White background | 26,810 | 7.9% | 2,550,950 | 9.8% |
| Missing | 7,695 | 2.3% | 1,247,135 | 4.8% |
Monthly changes in Pharmacy First consultations in GP records
The monthly counts of patients with a recorded Pharmacy First consultation in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by individual Pharmacy First consultation codes are presented in Figure 1. All consultations were recorded either with the Pharmacy First service code or the Consultation Service for minor illness code. Only the Consultation Service for minor illness code (see purple triangles in Figure 1) is referenced in the service specification.
Figure 1. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in their GP records in OpenSAFELY-TPP, broken down by individual Pharmacy First consultation codes. CP = Community Pharmacy.
Demographic breakdowns
These charts show how the number of Pharmacy First consultations changed over time across key demographic groups. Counts are broken down by sex, age, IMD quintile, region, and ethnicity to highlight patterns in service use across the population.
Sex
Figure 2. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by sex.
Age
Figure 3. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by age bands.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
Figure 4. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by IMD.
Region
Figure 5. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by region.
Ethnicity (5 Groups)
Figure 6. Monthly count of patients with a Pharmacy First consultation code in OpenSAFELY-TPP broken down by ethnicity.
Completeness of recorded Pharmacy First consultations in GP records
Completeness of Pharmacy First consultations is summarised here by showing the proportion of consultations with a recorded medication, clinical condition, or both. This gives an indication of how complete consultations are captured in GP records over time.
Figure 7. Monthly breakdown of all Pharmacy First consultation codes with either a recorded Pharmacy First medication, clinical condition, or both in OpenSAFELY-TPP.
Summary of clinical conditions recorded in Pharmacy First consultations
Pharmacy First consultations involving a clinical condition, as specified by NHS England, are shown here, broken down sex. This highlights which pathways were most commonly used between 2024-01-31 and 2025-01-30.
Table 2. Clinical conditions recorded in Pharmacy First consultations grouped by sex in OpenSAFELY-TPP between 2024-01-31 and 2025-01-30.
|
Sex
|
Total | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | |||
| Acute otitis media | 7,365 | 6,075 | 13,440 | 16.2% |
| Impetigo | 1,350 | 1,070 | 2,420 | 2.9% |
| Infected insect bites | 3,955 | 2,270 | 6,225 | 7.5% |
| Herpes zoster | 1,480 | 860 | 2,340 | 2.8% |
| Acute sinusitis | 7,825 | 3,470 | 11,295 | 13.6% |
| Acute pharyngitis | 15,045 | 8,850 | 23,895 | 28.9% |
| Uncomplicated UTI | 23,140 | 55 | 23,195 | 28.0% |
Summary of medications recorded in Pharmacy First consultations
This table presents the most commonly recorded medications recorded in Pharmacy First consultations, grouped by whether they were included in the Pharmacy First medications codelists or not.
Table 3. Top ten medications recorded in Pharmacy First consultations between 2024-01-31 and 2025-01-30.
| Count | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Medication included in codelists | ||
| Phenoxymethylpenicillin 250mg tablets | 15,635 | 32.1% |
| Nitrofurantoin 100mg modified-release capsules | 15,095 | 31.0% |
| Phenazone 40mg/g / Lidocaine 10mg/g ear drops | 2,785 | 5.7% |
| Clarithromycin 500mg tablets | 2,140 | 4.4% |
| Fluticasone furoate 27.5micrograms/dose nasal spray | 1,630 | 3.4% |
| Mometasone 50micrograms/dose nasal spray | 1,615 | 3.3% |
| Flucloxacillin 500mg capsules | 1,575 | 3.2% |
| Phenoxymethylpenicillin 250mg/5ml oral solution | 1,555 | 3.2% |
| Amoxicillin 250mg/5ml oral suspension | 1,315 | 2.7% |
| Amoxicillin 250mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free | 940 | 1.9% |