Pharmacies in England provided 80 per cent more same-day consultations via the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service in June this year than in the same month last year.

NHS England announced yesterday that in June 118,123 patients saw a pharmacist for a minor ailment or urgent medicine supply consultation after calling NHS 111 or their GP surgery, up from 64,152 in 2021.

NHSE also announced on Monday that patients can now secure a consultation via NHS 111 online, rather than always having to make a phone call.

NHSE chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “Our local pharmacies ensure hundreds of thousands of people every week get the support and medication they need and today’s figures show that in just one month, over 100,000 patients have also had consultations with their local pharmacist for minor illnesses – this means patients are getting the care they need quickly but also in a convenient way that can fit in with their busy lives.

“We are committed to making access to NHS services as easy as possible for our patients. From this week, people can be referred for a consultation with their local pharmacy through the touch of a button through NHS 111 online and from tomorrow, a new pilot will mean people can register for a local GP practice online within minutes.

“It is likely that we will face a busy and challenging winter and while we have already announced plans to boost capacity across our services, I am delighted that hard working pharmacy teams are playing an even greater role.

“It is vital that the public should continue to use the NHS as they normally would if they are unwell so people should continue to use NHS 111 and as ever, if it is life threatening call 999.”

NHSE also claimed that GP practices are seeing 35 million more patients than before the pandemic, with face-to-face GP appointments making up around two-thirds of all appointments in August.