Community pharmacists in Brighton and Hove have been granted access to patients’ records as part of a pilot scheme to make primary care services more integrated and accessible. Sixteen community pharmacies and 18 GP surgeries are taking part in the Extended Primary Integrated Care (EPIC) initiative, funded by the Prime Minister’s challenge fund, in which patients will be able to access a GP or pharmacist from 8am to 8pm on weekdays and for six hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

The scheme comprises three levels: in level one, pharmacists will offer medicines advice with reference to the patient’s medical record; level two will see pharmacists take referrals from GPs to treat 10 common ailments, according to agreed patient group directions, and for the level three service, patients with a wider range of common conditions will be referred to clinics led by independent prescriber pharmacists. Elizabeth Butterfield, who is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said: “I absolutely hope it will become a national model because it is the way forward for community pharmacy.”