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“Malaria, detached retina, male UTIs, UTIs over the age limit, pneumonia”: These are just some of the cases one community pharmacist claims to have been asked to deal with in recent months after patients were inappropriately referred by NHS 111 call handlers. 

The pharmacist – who had also seen “various” patients allegedly promised antibiotics by call handlers for conditions not covered by Pharmacy First – was among several who took to chat forum site Reddit this week to air their frustration with how the service is being implemented. 

Their experiences suggest that despite referrals from NHS 111 to community pharmacies having been commonplace since the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (the precursor to Pharmacy First) was introduced in 2019, training call handlers to refer within the funded scheme still poses challenges.  

One pharmacist commented: “Had a patient referred from 111 because his stitches came undone and they said we can stitch them back up for him.

“The amount of bizarre and unnecessary referrals we get is insane.”

Another commenter claimed to have been referred “blokes with UTIs, chest infections, infected toenail, dog bite, scratch to the eye” – all on the May 4 bank holiday earlier this week. 

Several said call handlers had directed patients to the pharmacy to collect their medicines despite only sending through a referral and not the patient’s electronic prescription. 

A pharmacist wrote: “111 are so frustrating and just pile loads of patients onto us, who then take out their anger on us because of the false information.

“It’s getting really tiring constantly getting screamed at just because 111 can’t seem to signpost people properly.”

Another said: “NHS 111 workers are merely a victim of the NHS’s incompetence with this service.”

Several commenters questioned whether call handlers are trained to manage public expectations around receiving antibiotics, with one posting that earlier this week a patient with persistent diarrhoea presented at the pharmacy after being advised by 111 “that they may need antibiotics and that a pharmacist can do this”. 

Another pharmacist gave their opinion: “The fundamental problem with Pharmacy First is that its entire premise is making antibiotics easier to get, when it really should be framed to the public as making healthcare easier to access.”

Another pharmacist responded: “We need to centre discussion around symptoms and not what’s on offer if they ‘win’ the consultation.”

The National Pharmacy Association told P3pharmacy its members have raised the issue of inappropriate NHS 111 referrals, commenting: “This was a particular issue during the Meningitis outbreak, when a lot of people were being referred to pharmacies inappropriately.”

NHS England did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.  

Has your pharmacy struggled with inappropriate NHS 111 referrals? Share your story at p3@1530.com