Pharmacy First: Making Healthcare Easier for Barking and Dagenham Residents

News - 21 November 2025

Accessing healthcare shouldn’t be complicated. To make things easier, the government introduced Pharmacy First in January 2024 to help reduce waiting times for GP appointments and A&E visits.

According to the Barking and Dagenham Health and Wellbeing Board’s Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025–2028, 37 pharmacies in the borough now offer this service. Pharmacy First is designed to give people faster access to expert care for seven common minor illnesses, including:

  • Ear infections
  • Sore throats
  • Shingles
  • Sinusitis
  • Insect bites
  • Impetigo
  • Simple urinary tract infections (in women)

In principle, Pharmacy First should make it easier for residents to get quick, professional help for these conditions. However, feedback has been mixed — some people say the service works well, others aren’t aware of it, and some feel it doesn’t meet their needs.

A national poll by Healthwatch England found that 86% of over 7,000 adults had a positive experience using Pharmacy First. Now, Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham wants to understand what your experience has been locally — whether you’ve used the service or not.

Your feedback matters. Please take a moment to complete our short survey and help us improve healthcare services in Barking and Dagenham. 
👉 Take the survey here. 


 

You might also be interested in

Find out about Pharmacy First - a new initiative

As part of a significant change in the way the NHS provides care, patients in England can now receive treatment for seven common diseases from their high street pharmacy without visiting a general practitioner.
Advice and Information